The Hand of Thrawn
by Angel Tsuiraku
Summary: A Luke/Mara fic...The second Death Star has been destroyed, along with Vader, but the Emperor lived long enough to give his Hand one last mission. Author's Notes expand on summary. PG-mild language.
1. Chapter 1: Jade vs Jedi

"You never did know when to exercise discretion, did you, Skywalker?"

At the sound of a cool female voice, Luke Skywalker turned from the feeble view his cell window allowed him. Though his emotions were raging inside, his face was perfectly impassive. He reflected no response to her comment at all. Gritting her teeth, the Emperor's Hand stalked further into the room and narrowed jewel-bright eyes at him in unabashed hatred.

Luke was in no mood for company, not after surrendering to Darth Vader on Endor, nearly turning to the Dark Side on the second Death Star, and then being dragged to Coruscant to be thrown into a cell, probably to await his own execution. Now his heart was clutched with regret and despair, and darkness deeper than he'd ever previously experienced. The woman, obviously an Imperial, was stalking the edge of his cell eyeing him like a hungry tiger. She had a glorious, full mane of red-gold hair, and piercing emerald-green eyes; eyes that were colder than the ice plains on Hoth. He sighed and didn't offer her the satisfaction of a response.

"Are all Jedi mute?" she snapped impatiently, but again was met only with silence. She snorted in disgust. "I'm sure you'll be pleased to hear that the Emperor is dying," she finally bit out, glaring at him as if she could kill him through her intense gaze. Luke whirled around to face her, searching her eyes for deception, even probing the edges of her mind slightly—to find she was shielding him out, something he'd never encountered before. He shoved that thought out of his mind and focused instead on her last words. Was it really true? Could the Emperor truly be dying? Or was it a ruse to get Luke's guard down? The latter sounded more likely, but he couldn't sense any deception from her. Still, that didn't mean it wasn't there.

"Dying?" he repeated hoarsely, then swallowed and said more forcefully, "How?"

The woman nailed him with a gaze that clearly said, 'As if you don't know.' Aloud, she snapped, "Vader."

That was a curve ball. Luke gaped at her for a moment, his shock evident on his suddenly pale face. "…Vader? What do you mean?"

"Vader attacked him with a lightsaber. He said he couldn't allow you to be killed…I knew you were manipulating him," she returned harshly. "It's your fault he's dying. Your fault that Vader escaped my Master's wrath."

"I…see," he managed, still recoiling from the shock of it all. "So…he escaped?"

"He escaped my Master, but not the Guard. They killed him." There was a note of grim pride in her voice, and she watched as the great Luke Skywalker, Rebel Commander and Jedi Knight, crumbled. Funny, she didn't think that Vader's death would get to him so easily. Still, it was satisfying to see him as broken as she was. The Hand stalked closer.

"He's dead…" Sudden tears welled up in his eyes, tears of deep regret and despair, tears that made his crystal-blue gaze all the more intense as he turned it on her. "Thank you for…telling me."

The Hand gaped at him, completely taken aback. Had he just…thanked her? How insane could he be?

"Yeah well…You're execution's in one week," she snapped, and turned sharply on her heel. Luke nodded, though he knew she couldn't see.

"I…if I may ask, who is in control now?"

Her fist visibly clenched, and her sense swelled with anger. "A Grand Admiral. His name is Thrawn." Then she stomped out.

__

Why'd you tell him that, stupid? she snapped to herself as she left. _You don't go announcing the name of the Empire's new leader to your sworn enemy…but then, it doesn't really matter. He'll be dead in a few days._

//My Hand…// The Emperor was calling to her, albeit weakly, through the Force. And when the Emperor called, Mara Jade carried out his will. It had always been so.

But it wouldn't be so for very much longer, and it was all Skywalker's fault. Damn that Jedi.

__

//I am coming, my Master,// she answered, and walked briskly toward his chambers.

The Emperor's private chambers were a group of elaborate and beautiful throne rooms. Though dark, there was an air about the chambers that spoke of power and grandeur. The rooms were large and very carefully decorated. Few had ever seen them from the inside, as Mara herself did. In the center of it all were the living quarters, where the Emperor bathed and slept. It was there that her Master was resting.

She approached his bedside and kneeled before him, quietly struck by how small her Master looked surrounded by pillows and dark sheets. But his yellow eyes were burning unnaturally bright, and they blazed into her with unusual intensity.

"My Hand…I have one last request. One last mission," he told her, and she bowed her head in compliance.

"Whatever you wish, Master," she replied softly. He smiled wistfully, touching the silky red-gold strands of her hair.

"I want you to seduce Skywalker to the Dark Side. He will turn for you, if you make him love you," he rasped, and Mara's astonished emerald gaze rose to meet his.

"Master?"

He continued as if he hadn't heard her. "He must take my place as Emperor. When he has turned, he will kill Thrawn and reclaim my throne. You will be his Hand," he told her, then as he glanced over her body, he added, "or maybe his Empress."

"My Master…"

"He will teach you in the ways of the Sith, my Hand, and you will become powerful. There must always be two, you know…two Siths…" The Emperor's voice was weakening. "Promise me, Jade. Promise me you will turn Skywalker and make him the new Emperor, as I have forseen."

He clasped her hand, and Mara knew then that she would do as he asked. But she would never be Luke Skywalker's Empress, not while there was still breath left in her body.

"Of course my Master. Skywalker will turn, and he will crush the Rebellion."

"You were always my best…and most faithful…servant, Mara Jade…" And it was then that the Emperor took in his last breath, and his heart stopped beating, and Mara Jade was left alone in the galaxy with only his last command to give her purpose in life.

After a moment, she rose and lifted her chin, then walked resolutely to her chamber, determined that she would not allow herself to grieve simply because she'd been orphaned for a second time.

**A few days later**…

"On your feet, Skywalker. You're moving," Mara announced as guards shuffled in to yank him to his feet. Luke Skywalker rose before they could reach him, and did not struggle when they clasped his arms securely.

"He's gone," he said simply, stumbling as the guards jerked him past her and toward the door. Mara glared daggers at him.

"Yes, he's gone," she confirmed, and followed the trio down the hall and to the turbolift. She keyed it for a nonstop trip to the 113 level of the Imperial Palace. Then Luke was dragged down a carpeted hall to a beautiful suite. His eyebrows lifted as he glanced around the room, and his head swiveled around to lock eyes with Mara.

"Looks cozy," he commented, and she resisted the urge to cuff his smart mouth.

"Well," she snapped acidly, "I should hope so." Then she waved a hand and the guards dropped his arms and disappeared. "Now then…"

Luke regarded her silently, thinking in spite of himself that she was the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen. She shoved a hand through her hair and met his gaze, looking almost uncertain.

"You're not to be executed," she told him after a long pause. He could see her agitation, and she was so tense that the air around her seemed to be as compressed as her muscles surely were.

"Any…particular reason?" he asked, but she didn't answer. Instead, she changed the subject.

"Refresher's that way," she said, jerking a thumb over her left shoulder. "The room is fully stocked."

Her hatred was there, but compressed, along with a pain that she was fighting almost constantly. He frowned at her, but resisted an inquiry. She wouldn't answer anyway, and he could guess at the source of her pain. Instead he nodded and bowed, then locked gazes with her once more. Something about those intense blue eyes rattled her more than she cared to admit, even to herself. She tore her eyes away and turned back toward the door.

"And Skywalker," she added as she strolled out, "the walls can't be penetrated by a lightsaber. Have a nice day."

"Fat chance," he muttered as he headed for the 'fresher. He hadn't been able to cleanse himself since before the mission on Endor, and he was feeling very grubby. A shower sounded like a godsend at the moment, and he keyed the door open. The interior was very, very ritzy, complete with a huge Jacuzzi and a luxurious shower. The Empire certainly new how to treat its higher-ups. Feeling suddenly lowly and very dirty, Luke stepped into the shower and proceeded to clean himself. The room was indeed fully stocked, down to a razor for shaving—which he took advantage of. Then he crawled into bed and tried to lull himself to sleep. Thankfully, it didn't take him long.

Mara let out a long sigh and paced in the hallway outside of Skywalker's room. It had only been a few hours since they'd last spoken, but she knew she had to start her mission right away. Not that she wanted to see his face so soon again, but she had a job to do. With a long sigh, she entered the room.

He was there, of course, sitting cross-legged on the bare hardwood floor of the common room. He was meditating, strangely at peace for a man stuck on an enemy palace on an enemy planet at the heart of enemy territory. He'd shed his Jedi blacks for one of the silky blue shirts that he'd found in his stocked wardrobe, and he had on sandy colored slacks that were only a few shades lighter than his ruffled dirty-blonde hair. He'd showered and shaved, even somehow managed to trim that unruly hair, and the overall effect was quite appealing, though Mara would have died before admitting such a thing out loud. She was gazing at the shirt when he opened his eyes and looked at her face, seemingly not surprised to see her there at all.

Mara sucked in a breath, noticing the way the blue of the shirt made his eyes electrifying in both color and intensity. He was about her age, but his eyes held knowledge and maturity that most 20-year-old men did not possess. Snapping herself out of her trance and back into reality—where she still hated him—she casually walked closer and sat directly in front of him, meeting his eyes with her own steely gaze.

"My Master said that I should…train with you. He said you would teach me the ways of the Force," she murmured, unable to think of any other excuse to be talking to a man that she'd openly admitted to hating—practically to his face. Luke regarded her for a moment, then seemed to buy it and nodded.

"Then I shall. You have great potential. But I have one condition," he warned her, quite somberly. She eyed him suspiciously.

"What's that?" she ventured, tempted to get up and leave right then. Sitting so near him was unnerving and unpleasant.

To her surprise, he actually smiled. "If you want me to teach you, you have to tell me your name."

She could have punched him for worrying her like that. Instead she glared daggers at him again and snapped, "Mara."

"Is there more to it than Mara?" he asked, gesturing.

_Don't hit the stupid Jedi, don't hit the stupid Jedi, _she chanted to herself, and added, "Jade," quite icily. His smile widened.

"Well then, Mara Jade, my name is Luke. Though I get the impression that you knew that already," he mused, and his eyes sparkled. She managed to keep her jaw from dropping, but only just. How the man could be smiling and joking when he was sitting across from a woman who wanted nothing more than to kill him was beyond her. She mutely nodded.

"Mara…that's a pretty name," he told her, and she glared at him.

"Just get on with it, Skywalker," she snapped.

"Means 'bitter', doesn't it?" He tilted his head. "Though…I don't think that suits you."

"Skywalker," she growled warningly, and he chuckled.

"All right, all right, you win," he conceded, lifting his hands in defeat. "What do you want to know?"

Mara was nearly overwhelmed with an urge to smile back, and berated herself for it. After all, he was the reason her Master was dead. It was his fault she had to seduce him anyway. She hated him. Even when he was complimenting her name.

"I have trouble controlling small objects…like lamp switches," she answered truthfully enough.

"What works for me is visualizing the object in my head…like…this." He closed his eyes, and she suddenly found herself levitating about two feet off the ground.

"Skywalker!"

"Can't blame me for trying to have a little fun. You're the only company I've got, after all," he added.

Did nothing dampen his spirits?

"Don't do that again," she said aloud, firmly. He grinned but made no promises, and again Mara had to fight her urge to maim him in some way.

Luke, on the other hand, was feeling a lot better after his shower and short nap, and getting his captor all riled up was more fun than he'd anticipated. He felt somehow as if he could trust her, though only the Force knew why. She was his captor after all…but while she obviously hated him, she'd made no threatening movements whatsoever. And by teaching her the Force, maybe he could steer her toward the Light Side…maybe even draw her into the Rebellion. He'd have to be careful though, and patient. And patience was never one of his strong points.

"You try now," he instructed.

"I am _not_ lifting your ass off of this floor," she growled, and to her growing rage, he chuckled again.

"All right, leave my 'ass' where it is and try to move one of the pillows on the couch," he replied. Damn that infuriating sense of humor…

She smiled in satisfaction as she launched the pillow forcefully at his head on only the second try. He lifted his hand and stopped in a few inches from his face, much to her disappointment, but he seemed to be amused and pleased.

"You learn quickly," he said in praise. "I couldn't do that to Ben until after he showed me a couple of times."

"You launched a pillow at Ben Kenobi?" Mara asked, incredulous. Luke laughed.

"Sure did. Or tried to, anyway, but he turned it around and hit me with it instead," he told her, grinning impishly. She shook her head.

"I see he had the right idea," she retorted, and he levitated her again, laughing when she shouted, "SKYWALKER!" loud enough to wake half a city.

"You know…I have a first name. It's easier to say, too—only one syllable," he told her. She shook her head. If Skywalker thought that she was going to be on a first name basis with him, he was gravely mistaken. Using his first name was a bit too intimate, considering she was still harboring a desire to kill him.

Though, damn it all, even that was fading. Losing the Emperor had softened her, but she wouldn't let it stay that way.

"Skywalker doesn't sound as corny," she shot back at him, and stood. "I'll be back tomorrow to check on you."

"Okay…we'll continue then," he agreed, rising to his feet as well. The grin was gone, but he still had a lighthearted air about him. Mara shook her head and headed toward the door. She was laughing as a pillow smacked into his face from its once dormant spot on the couch. The door shut before she could hear his laughter as well.

Who knew being held captive could be so…fun? Not that Luke was particularly fond of the idea of staying in Imperial territory, but on the bright side, at least he had plenty of entertainment. Still, he needed to think of an escape plan. Though they were desperately trying, the stormtroopers and guards could not hide the fact that losing their two most senior officers had thrown them through a loop. He wasn't worried about bypassing them…it was Mara Jade that worried him. Sure, she was fun to bait, but she was also dangerous. He could sense it, and could see it in the very way she held herself. The way she conducted herself told him that she was used to lavish surroundings and power. It also told him that she was an assassin. And a good one, at that. _Yep_, he thought lightly, _no doubt about it. I've been hanging around with Han too much._

What there really was no doubt about was that everyone at home was planning a massive rescue mission, and there was also no doubt about who was at the head of the committee…his twin sister herself, Leia Organa.

Without any way to contact them, there was no way to tell Leia that he didn't need to be rescued. So he'd have to be quick with his escape. Though not knowing a thing about the palace was a hindrance. Sighing, he slid back into meditation and hoped a feasible plan would reach him in a short amount of time. Hopefully before the cavalry arrived to find an empty suite and a certain hot-tempered redhead with a death wish for him, charging after him in a fighter.

Mara leaned against the inside of her door when she got back to her room, itching to go back and shoot him just to be done with it. He'd softened her, more than she cared to admit, and she couldn't afford that. Still, her appearance of warming to him would probably help her carry out her orders of making him love her and then turning him to the Dark side. He was certainly warming up quite easily, but then he was way too trusting. This was something she'd heard Vader tell the Emperor over and over, and she agreed now that they'd met. He genuinely believed that she wouldn't hurt him. Well, he was in for a rude awakening, naïve farmboy-turned-Jedi that he was.

And damn it all, she hated him and she hated his stupid Force lessons, and that was that.

But blue eyes haunted her dreams that night.

**The next morning…**

Of all the things Mara Jade expected Luke Skywalker to be, none of them had much to do with being a gentleman. From her extensive studies on him back when the Emperor had ordered his death, she knew he grew up on a moister farm on a backwater planet about as far from the galaxy's center as it could be and maintain life. She also knew he was an excellent shot and a skilled if untrained pilot. She knew he lacked formal diplomatic training, knew he avoided formal balls, and knew that he'd grown up with an aunt and uncle without much interaction with the opposite sex. She knew that farmers lacked manners in most cases, and knew that Jedi didn't take extensive edict classes, either. So when she walked in balancing a tray in one hand and a box of his old clothes in the other, she hadn't expected him to jump up, bow, and relieve her of her heaviest burden, the clothes.

"Didn't one of the guards help you?" he asked as he set the box down. Mara blinked at him and shook her head.

"My well being is not your concern, Jedi. I can managed a tray and a box on my own just fine," she told him. He shook his head, mimicking her, and replied, "That doesn't mean they shouldn't offer."

"And how do you know they didn't?" she shot back, and received a crooked grin in return.

"I _am_ a Jedi, Mara." Then he shrugged, turning serious. "They were amused…seemed to enjoy watching rather than helping."

"And this bothers you, Skywalker?" She put one hand on her hip and tossed her vibrant red-gold hair, looking proud and defiant. He sighed and nodded.

"I'm coming to realize that you're perfectly capable of taking care of yourself, Mara, but I don't agree with the fact that they didn't offer their assistance."

"I'm a woman, Skywalker. Inferior," she stated blandly, though his admonition of faith in her abilities was rather shocking to hear. She hoped he couldn't break through her barriers. She was surprised to see that he looked confused and rather upset.

Not that she had any misconceptions of him. The Emperor had not lied to her about him. Mara knew that the Rebellion's precious Luke Skywalker was kind, bashful, even innocent. She was fully aware that he had a weakness for people in need and a great amount of ability in the Force. His compassion and warmth, the depth of his loyalty, all of his interesting and naïve personality quirks were quite easy to read. She knew he wasn't some slimy murder, or some lowlife scumbag. But he was a threat, a potent one, and one that the Emperor had once wanted removed. The tables had turned, however, though her hatred for his leading to her Master's death was strong. They wouldn't be friends, but she would be his Hand, and that was that.

"Inferior? The Emperor didn't think so," he said. Mara slammed her hand down sharply on his table, a clear sign that he should not bring that particular subject up again.

"No…he didn't, because he raised me," she growled through clenched teeth. "The guards don't know who I am. They think I was the Emperor's plaything, not his Hand."

"I see."

Everything in her screamed for a fight, for some action. She almost wished that he would make a move to escape, just so she'd have an excuse to attack. Realizing the stupidity of such rash thoughts, she tried to reign in her anger and control herself again, and had almost forgotten she was still in Skywalker's room until he spoke.

"Why don't we?" he asked softly as his sober and calm presence flooded the room once more. Mara looked up sharply at him. Had he forced his way into her mind? She hadn't felt it, but then, she'd only been touched by the Sith, never by a Light Sider…and then he smiled thinly. "No, Mara, I didn't rip the thoughts from your mind. You're simply broadcasting your restlessness and suspicions. Quite loudly, at that," he added with a wince. Mara glared daggers at him.

"If you think for one second I'm just going to hand you your Jedi weapon, you're crazy," she told him, cooling her temper immediately. His thin smile returned and he nodded.

"No, you're no fool, Mara," he agreed, and sat down on the edge of his bed. "In that case, I guess we should get to your next lesson. What would you like to learn this time?"

"I can't meditate," she replied automatically, then bit her tongue. Damn, if that didn't sound stupid. Luke's eyebrows raised fractionally.

"Ah. Well, let's give it a try now. I assume you know you have to clear your mind and be at peace."

"Yes," she agreed, gritting her teeth at the "teacher" tone in his voice. He moved to sit cross-legged on the floor and she followed him. They lapsed into a companionable silence, neither in the mood to talk anymore. Soon he was lost in a trance, but still Mara could not clear her mind. She opened one eye and glanced at his still form. There was power beneath the exterior, power she hadn't really sensed from him before. All in all he was a pretty fascinating guy—in one of those infuriating-type ways—and as humble as everyone said he was. But there was something of his father in him…impatience, she felt it when they were snapping at each other. That was one of the weaknesses she could use to turn him. She closed her eyes again and tried to wipe her mind clear, but the peace wouldn't come. Stubbornly, she repeated the attempt. _Focus, Jade, and just relax…_

There was a shock as a warm hand contacted the skin at her temple, and then peace came flooding through her. The freedom of it made her feel as if she were soaring in the clouds high above the long-destroyed planet of Alderaan, and suddenly a vision of just that came to her. Her breath caught in joy and her hand came up to cover the one at her temple without her even thinking about it—and then, abruptly, she realized whose hand it was and jerked away. Her emerald eyes shot open and she glared accusingly at him. He only gave her a wary smile.

"You were doing well. You just have to find your center of calm," he told her. "It took me a while to find mine, too. Yoda was always smacking me with his walking stick, yelling, 'Center of calm you must find! Find it you must!' You'll find yours, too."

She stood, shaking, wondering what had just happened, too rattled to really be paying attention to him. He let her pace for a moment, then stood up and wandered toward the suite's kitchenette.

"Would you like a drink?" he called over his shoulder.

"No."

"Hungry?"

"No."

He strolled out of the kitchenette empty-handed and shrugged. "Me either."

"Well, Skywalker…tomorrow."

He smiled again, and nodded. "Tomorrow." He paused, then added, "And Jade…find your center of calm, you must."

"Are all Jedi nutty?" she tossed over her shoulder teasingly, and they both laughed as the door slid shut. It wasn't until a few moments later that she realized she'd left his suite laughing for the second day in a row.

Oh yes, there was a bond between them. There could be no doubt of that. The real question was, what to do about it. Mara Jade was unlike any other woman he'd ever met, and against his own better judgement, Luke was genuinely starting to enjoy her company. Except for when they were yelling at each other. But even then, the way he could so easily sense her emotions made it all rather comical. With training, she'd be able to sense him the same way. Perhaps their bond would strengthen.

Still, he still felt lingering suspicions that she was luring him into a trap. Which, he thought with a wry smile, was probably exactly what she was doing, but why? She hated him, he could sense that, so why didn't she just kill him? It wasn't just the Force lessons, nor was it their fledging Force-bond. No, his new bondmate was attempting something different. Perhaps trying to turn him? That was the most likely reason, though it was hard to imagine her trying to turn him due to the rage for him she still harbored.

He thrust the thoughts away from his mind, realizing there was little he could do at this point, and stretched out as hard as he could in the Force, reaching for his sister. He hoped she could hear him over the vast expanse of galaxy that separated them.

_//Leia…can you hear me?//_

//Luke? Luke, are you alright?// Her Force-voice was frantic with worry, but there was relief there as well. He smiled a little.

__

//Yes, I'm fine. Listen, Leia, I don't want you and Han to come after me, all right? I'm fine. I'm not in any danger. But there's something here I have to take care of before I come back.//

//Luke, there's been rumors that Vader and the Emperor are…dead…//

//Yes, it's true. A Grand Admiral is in charge now, someone named Thrawn.//

//Oh, Luke, I can't stand the thought of leaving you there…//

//Don't worry,// he sent reassuringly, _//nothing's going to happen to me. I've got everything under control.//_

He felt her wry touch of humor and nearly laughed himself as she sent back dryly, _//How many times have I heard _that_ before.//_

//I love you, Leia…take care of yourself. And make sure Han doesn't do anything stupid while I'm gone.//

//I'll do my best, anyway. I love you too. And for heaven's sake, be careful!//

He was still grinning when they broke contact.

Mara slid into bed that night in a near panic. Skywalker was really starting to get to her, and that was quite scary. She wasn't supposed to be having second thoughts about killing him, or turning him. She wasn't supposed to be thinking about him at all, unless it was planning to turn him. But more and more often over the past two days he'd been slipping into her thoughts and dreams with that intense blue gaze of his. Not only that, but she could feel a strong bond beginning to form between them. This was something she wanted to avoid at all costs. Still, if she wanted to carry out her Master's last command, avoiding it would be impossible, just as avoiding him would be.

So how could she turn him without compromising her feelings? This was by far going to be the most difficult task the Emperor had ever given her. With a sigh, she rolled onto her back and tried to think, and then the Emperor's words drifted back to her…

__

Seduce Skywalker to the Dark Side…

So she stood and walked down the corridor to the turbolift, intent on seducing the Force out of him. A few moments later, she was standing in front of the door to his room, firming her resolve. Hopefully his farmboy modesty would kick in before they got too far, and then if she kept at it for a couple of nights, maybe he'd turn without their ever doing anything, and she wouldn't have to sacrifice her one true asset to the mission. Besides, she wasn't about to admit to Skywalker that she was still a virgin. Finally, taking a deep breath, she slid into the room.

He was a light sleeper, so when she slid the door to his bedroom open he jerked awake. Almost immediately he recognized the presence as hers and frowned in confusion.

"Mara…what's going on?" he murmured sleepily, trying to clear his hazy vision. She didn't answer, opting to move closer instead. This was getting very weird very quick. "Mara?" he repeated.

"I…Skywalker…why can't I get you out of my head?" she whispered, her eyes bright in the dim light of the room. He choked back his shock at her words.

"Mara, I don't understand," he began, but she cut him off.

"Your face is in my dreams. Your eyes follow me. And your hands…" she trailed off for a moment, leaving him to speculate wildly for half a second before continuing, "Your hands are so gentle in my dreams."

"I…" He was absolutely speechless. Her hatred was gone, leaving only uncertainty and confusion. Her green eyes searched his blue, and he felt their bond intensify. "Mara, why are you here?"

"Because…because I can't stop thinking about you, damn it! I didn't ask for this…"

The emotions, the words that were coming from Mara were true. She should have known that she wouldn't be able to just walk in and seduce him. Already there was too much between them for that. She couldn't hate him when all he did was look at her like she was something special. No one ever looked at her that way. She didn't like him, but she couldn't hate him. And he wouldn't leave her alone, either. Then there was that damnable bond they were somehow sharing, and the sudden urge to seduce him anyway just to see if her suspicions were right. Because she was starting to suspect he'd be a very gentle and giving lover, if given half the chance. This whole line of thought was new to her, wild and unexpected, and for the most part, unwanted.

"Mara, I'm sorry…I can't explain it either. I have dreams of you too," he admitted, flushing noticeably. "Perhaps it's because we're bondmates now."

She looked at him again, blinking. "Bondmates?"

"Yes. Can't you feel it? We're linked together somehow…and I think that's why we can't…well…why we're so in tune," he explained awkwardly. "Mara, I…perhaps you should go back to your room."

Her eyes widened as she realized what he was saying. He wanted her to stay. He _wanted_ her. But he wouldn't let himself do that to her, because she knew he could sense her confusion. Her reluctance.

"Yeah. Get some sleep, Skywalker," she muttered, turning to stand. He tugged on her hand and she swiveled back around to meet his gaze.

"Sleep well, Mara," he whispered, and wished with all his might that she'd give him some sort of sign to let him know that she didn't truly hate him. She didn't disappoint him.

"You too, farmboy," she replied with a wry smile, and ruffled his already tousled hair. Then she left without another word.

**Two days later…**

Mara was back to her cool self when she returned, but Luke was happy to see her anyway. He'd made definite progress with her. At least he knew she wouldn't slay him in the dead of night. Perhaps she was even the tiniest bit attracted to him. Then he laughed at himself.

_Yeah right, Skywalker…in your dreams._

"What's so funny?" she asked him, narrowing her eyes suspiciously. He chuckled again and shrugged.

"Nothing. So, why don't you tell me what you're up to?" he said amiably. The question was so unexpected that for a moment, Mara wasn't sure she'd heard him correctly. Then she realized she had.

"What do you mean?"

"Come on, Mara…I may be a farm kid, but I'm not _that_ stupid. What did the Emperor tell you to do with me?"

She sputtered indignantly. "He didn't tell me to do anything with you, Skywalker."

He rolled his eyes and nailed her with a look that clearly said, _Yeah, and you're related to a Wookie, too._

"As if I'd tell you anyway!" she snapped.

He continued to stare.

"Damn you, Skywalker."

And damn the way those blue eyes lanced right into her soul.

"All right, fine. I'm supposed to turn you. Then you become a Sith lord, and I become your Hand and your apprentice. Then you rule the Empire and crush the Rebellion. Oh, and I'm supposed to get you to kill Thrawn, too."

Luke smiled wryly and asked, "Is that all?"

Mara didn't know why she found that comment so amusing, but she had to fight to keep an answering smile off of her face. Instead, she snapped, "Yes, Skywalker, that's all."

"So you'd be my Hand, huh? And you'd do whatever I told you?"

She gritted her teeth. "That's the job description, yes…" Suddenly she hated her job.

"Anything? Like…if I asked you to…I dunno…play strip-tease for Wedge, you'd do it?" he asked, laughter lighting his crystal-blue eyes. Mara ground her teeth together again.

"Yes, I'd play strip-tease for your little pilot friend. If you ordered it."

Then a mischievous grin lit his features and set Mara further on edge. "Would you play strip-tease for me?"

Well, that took the prize. She didn't think Mr. Aw-shucks-farmboy-slash-Jedi Knight had it in him. At that moment, she would have gladly shot him right between the eyes if she'd had a blaster ready. Unfortunately, she figured earlier that with her tempter, he'd stay alive longer if she left it in her suit. She hated it when she was right.

"If…you…ordered…it…" she choked out through a tight throat. The Emperor's voice sounded in her head as if he were whispering in her ear, saying, _Or his Empress_. Abruptly she stood and broke off the thought. "I would also kill anyone you wanted, seduce anyone you wanted, and keep your troops in line. But you'd have to turn, first."

He laughed and said, "Well, it's a lot more tempting now," and dodged the shoe she threw at his head.

"It's not something to joke about!" she shouted at him. He ran a hand through his hair and nodded.

"I know, but I had to say something. It was too good to pass up." He could have sworn he heard her mutter, "Damn Jedi," and he grinned all the wider.

"You won't turn, will you, Skywalker?" she asked softly after a pause. He sobered and looked away from her.

"No, I won't. I can't do that, Mara."

"Thrawn will have me kill you."

Luke smiled, still staring at the wall, and returned gently, "The Emperor already tried that. You didn't succeed then."

"I know you better now," she warned, and he turned finally to meet her gaze.

"That's why you won't succeed now," he finished, and smiled at her, his crystal-blue eyes as warm as a summer afternoon.

"I wouldn't count on it," she said a moment later, tearing her gaze from his. His smile widened ever-so-slightly.

"I think I'm willing to take that chance."

"I think you're a fool," she snapped. He laughed quietly.

"So what else is new?" he asked, and this time, she laughed with him.


	2. Chapter 2: Red eyes, Blue eyes, Brown ey...

****

One week later…

Mara Jade walked silently through the halls of the Imperial Palace with an air of confidence, though it was all a mask. Inside she was burning with curiosity and even a touch of resentment, but the part of her that was the Emperor's Hand would not allow such petty feelings to show. There was too much pride in her for that. So she floated down the halls like some sort of princess, hell-bent on getting where she was going. Which was the throne room for her first meeting with the Empire's new leader, Grand Admiral Thrawn.

She'd been present on the evening when he was secretly promoted to Grand Admiral, and she remembered him quite well though they had never actually met. In fact, he was completely unaware that she'd ever even been there. Thrawn had shown exceptional intelligence and bearing, but there was a sense she got from him that made her acutely uncomfortable. His blue skin was a shocking contrast to the snow-white uniform of the Grand Admiral, and his red eyes had blazed like fire in the dim room that night. He was the first and only non-human to become a Grand Admiral. Most other non-human species were pushed into slavery for the Empire. Though the knowledge made Mara slightly uncomfortable—especially around their "house guest" and Mr. Do-no-wrong, Luke Skywalker—she also saw the need for such labor and had never questioned it. That was before she'd met Skywalker, in the good old days. Back then everything had made sense and was in good military order. Now everything was an absolute mess.

She reached the throne room's double doors too soon for her liking, but her personal preferences really weren't the issue. Squaring her shoulders and smoothing her wild hair, she stepped into the large room and walked right up to the throne where, to her dislike but not surprise, Thrawn had seated himself. His skin was still blue, and his eyes still blazed with their own personal fire. His uniform remained impeccable, and his manor and presence had not changed one bit. All in all, he was the same being he had been when he was first promoted, except for now he was at the head of the most powerful force in the galaxy.

"Grand Admiral Thrawn," she greeted tersely, and dropped in the typical bow. A smirk touched his thin lips and his red eyes flamed hotter. 

"Ah, the Emperor's Hand. It is good to finally meet you." He made a smooth gesture, and a droid slid over to her and offered her a glass of champagne.

"No thank you," she said to both it and the Admiral. Then she focused completely on the issue at hand. "You asked to see me, Admiral?"

"Yes, I did. It has not escaped my notice that you served the Emperor with unquestionable loyalty. Might I expect the same, Miss Jade?"

"Of course, Admiral."

"I am a bit uncertain as to what to call your position, Miss Jade…though I am beginning to think that the 'Hand of Thrawn' has a nice ring to it," he added with a dry smile. Mara managed to chuckle and nodded.

"I suppose that is appropriate," she answered.

"You don't like me, do you, Miss Jade?" he asked suddenly, and Mara hesitated only slightly before nodding. "I see…that's too bad, considering our now intimate bond. As my top servant, I will expect nothing less than the Emperor did. Do you understand?"

"I understand, Admiral."

He smiled again, though it was a ghostly sight on him, and waved her away. She headed for the door, and it was opening when he called to her once more.

"And my Hand, I want you to dispose of Skywalker. I want it done quickly and cleanly, and as soon as possible."

Mara give one sharp nod and left in turmoil, wondering just how she always managed to land herself into these messes when Skywalker was involved.

-

Luke Skywalker had decided a few days ago that he didn't like being cooped up in one place for too long, suite or no suite. He wanted to go outside and run. He wanted to get in his X-wing and fly, he wanted to practice with his lightsaber, and none of those options were available to him. The restlessness of the people in the city below was getting to him, making him itch for some kind of action, but all he could do was meditate or do small workouts within the perimeter of his room. Most of all, he was beginning to long for company. Especially for the company of a particular green-eyed woman with gorgeous, shoulder-length red-gold hair. It was foolishness, he knew, but he couldn't help it. Their bond was growing even when they weren't near each other, and he only had to stretch out in the Force the tiniest bit to sense her. She reminded him strongly of both Han and Leia, but she was entirely different than them both as well. He was still musing about her when her presence appeared in the hallway, deep in turmoil. He stood, eager to see her even if she was in a bad mood. When the door slid open, however, he saw she was in no mood to chat. Instead, she had a blaster pointed at his heart.

"Thrawn has ordered me to kill you," she said flatly, explaining without him having to voice the obvious question. "And, seeing as I am his Hand now, I'm honor-bound to do it."

He lowered his eyes. "I see."

"You're awfully calm. You think I won't do it?" she snarled, and he smiled without humor.

"No, I know you'll do it. I'm just surprised that you would honor his orders without fulfilling your mission to the Emperor," he replied, still gazing at the floor. Mara snorted and cocked the blaster.

"You said yourself that you won't turn."

This time he laughed, though it was hollow and lacked his usual warmth. "I guess I did, didn't I? But you didn't try very hard, either."

"I think you're just stalling."

For the first time that morning, his laughter was genuine, if quiet. Crystal-blue eyes met her emerald ones, sparkling with good-humor.

"I think you're right," he agreed. Then, quietly, "You can't blame a guy for trying."

She tilted her head, then shook it. "No, I guess I can't," she replied, a hint of sarcasm in her voice. The laughter in his eyes became more pronounced, and then regret touched them.

"I'll miss you, Mara Jade."

Damn…we're all the Jedi this touchy-feel-y? She didn't want him to miss her. All she wanted from him was his life. At least, that's all she had wanted when she walked in there. Now, now that he'd spoken those words that seemed to damn her all the way to her core, he'd completely finalized their Force-bond. Now it was different, and the thought of killing him seemed more automatic than an embodiment of her own desires. Luke saw that, and understood it. Her hatred of him might have evaporated, she might not want to kill him anymore, but she still harbored deep feelings of dislike for him. It wasn't much progress, but it was enough. She lowered her blaster.

"I don't have much choice. If I don't kill you, he'll find someone else," she told him, avoiding his gaze. Once again, the wry smile was in place, and he said only, "Somehow, with you at my side, I'm not worried."

She glared, though much of the effect was lost because she was refusing to look at him. "You should be. And I'm not 'at your side,' Skywalker."

"Aren't you?" he asked, mild surprise coloring his voice. He didn't look very surprised, however; just earnest and persuasive. "There's nothing left for you in the Empire."

Looking everywhere but at him, she snapped, "Isn't there? And besides, what would your Rebellion offer me? A cell?"

Luke frowned and took her arms gently. "Of course not, Mara, not if you came with me. They'd accept you simply because I have. And then, once they get to know you, they'll accept you because they like you."

Their bond was overwhelming when he touched her, making all of his earnestness and concern wash over her in a powerful tide. His blue eyes delved deeply into hers, but to her surprise, he made no attempt to even lightly probe her psyche. He was leaving it entirely up to her. Still, being welcomed with open arms by her enemy sounded risky, even if they did trust their Jedi Knight implicitly.

"No, Skywalker, I don't belong there."

"You do."

"You're nuts," she insisted, clenching her teeth. He grinned in spite of himself.

"So you've told me."

"It will never work. I don't belong with those people."

"You belong with me. We're bondmates. Where I go, you'll be, in physical form or not. Face it, Jade, I'm not that easy to get rid of," he said, and lightly tapped her chin with a loosely balled fist, an affectionate gesture. She glared at him, but he could feel her weakening.

"I do not belong with you. Or to you."

"You belong to the Light, like me," he whispered, lowering his forehead to hers. She didn't jerk back, as he'd expected, but she did fidget uncomfortably.

"I can't. I've promised. This is my world, Skywalker. Go back to yours." She slowly pulled back and turned away, her resolve firmed. His eyes followed her, his hands suddenly missing the feel of her arms.

"Come with me," he begged.

"No."

"Mara…"

"Go, before I change my mind," she ordered sharply, back still turned. She pulled his lightsaber out from a pocket on her right pant leg, then gestured to the door. He took the lightsaber and started toward the exit, but just as he reached it, he turned back to her.

"When you realize where you truly belong, you're welcome to find me. My offer will always stand," he told her, then saluted her with the lightsaber and charged down the hall.

****

Yavin IV: Ten days later…

Luke arrived on Yavin IV with dampened spirits. Leia Organa was there to meet him, sitting just outside the now-abandoned Rebel base, and not too far behind her, barely visible through the planet's dense jungles, was the _Millennium Falcon_. He hopped out of his "borrowed" Skipray and ran to his sister, engulfing her in a huge hug. She laughed and hugged him back tightly, all of the worries fading from her face at the sight of her unharmed brother.

"Did you take care of your business?" she asked when they pulled back, and Luke's eyes darkened slightly.

"Yeah, kind of. But that's not important. What's important right now is seeing you and Han and Chewie again," he replied, smiling. He looked a little…pained, but Leia decided that her brother would tell her when he was ready and led him back to the _Falcon_.

"Hiya, Kid! What've you been up to, huh? You're lucky I didn't have to come blast your butt out of trouble, or you'd be getting an earful right now," Han Solo mockingly chided as Luke and Leia appeared. Luke grinned at him and accepted the warm embrace.

"At least you're not frozen in carbonite again," he retorted, and Han lightly cuffed him on the shoulder. With a Wookie roar, Chewbacca appeared from the cockpit of the _Falcon_ and squeezed Luke into a Wookie hug. Laughing despite the pain of his now crushed ribcage, Luke tried to hug all three of them at once.

"It's good to be back," he told them all, smiling brightly, and Leia ruffled his hair.

"It's good to have you back. Strap in, we're gonna get going," she replied, and he obediently strapped himself into a seat in the cockpit. His thoughts were millions of light-years away, however, though these he kept carefully to himself. Though he'd been welcomed back by the people he'd come to think of as family—and in Leia's case, quite literally family—there was something missing. No, _someone_ missing. Though their Force-bond still linked them, not having Mara Jade on the same planet with him was altogether disorientating. It was like the irritation of knowing you'd forgotten something, but being unable to remember what it was you'd forgotten. Like it or not, they were wrapped up together for the rest of their lives.

He stretched out for her, touched her presence, and marveled at how bright it was even from their great distance from her. She ignored the contact, however, and threw up yet another shield. That was something he'd meant to ask her about, but he'd left before he could. He just hoped he'd get another chance, with any luck in the near future, to get her to show him just how it was done.

-

"I can't believe it!" Mara fumed out loud, throwing her hands in the air. "Yeesh!"

The Emperor's Hand had been in plenty of prison cells, even in one she'd designed and tested herself*. But never had she been in a prison because of someone else.

"Damn that Skywalker!" she snapped, pacing in the small cell. She knew every inch of the prison since she'd designed, built, and tested it a few weeks before the Emperor asked her to take out Luke Skywalker. Now she was in prison and it was all his fault. She should have shot him when she had the chance, stupid Jedi that he was. But _nooo_, she had to let him get to her, didn't she? STUPID! As usual, the guards ignored her and kept their eyes and ears trained for any unusual activities. _As if ranting about a Jedi is commonplace! _she thought viciously, and glared at them with all the intensity she could muster. And to think, she had actually started to have _feelings_ for him. She must have been insane.

She felt him brush her mind, and slammed a firm barrier up as fast as she could. She was in no mood to have a chat with that Jedi-pig. Besides, she didn't want him to find out she was in captivity and come racing back to rescue her, valiant, stupid man that he was. Stupid, stupid, stupid. That's what he was.

Of course, being angry at him wasn't going to get her out of the cell. But it did give her something to do, since she knew there was no way she was getting out of there. Why had she let him go?

_//Mara?//_

Damn. He was back.

_//What, Skywalker?//_ she snapped back in irritation. She could feel his relief.

_//Are you all right? Did you get in trouble because of me?//_

//I'm FINE! Would you leave me alone, please?!//

//Mara…are you sure you're okay? You feel angry and restless.//

//Just get out of my head, would you!//

//Okay, if that's what you want. Take care, Mara. I'm waiting for you.//

She didn't reply, but then she didn't have to. Her answering swell of emotions—smothered quickly, but there nonetheless—was enough to convince him that she would be okay, and that she'd consider his offer.

Why did he have to say things like that? It's not like they knew each other very well. She didn't even like him very much, but then he said things that made her feel…breathless. Things like, 'I'm waiting for you,' or, 'Come with me.' If she were less independent, if she'd been brought up as something other than the Emperor's personal assassin, she probably would have gone with him. Hell, she'd probably be in love with him by now, not that there weren't enough love-sick women pining after him already. But she couldn't do it. And look at where it had gotten her.

She was brought out of her angry tide of self-discovery and self-loathing by the sound of her guards snapping to attention and saying, "Good morning, Admiral." She looked up to see Grand Admiral Thrawn standing in front of her cell.

"Please, gentlemen, if I might have a word alone with Miss Jade," he suggested, and the guards obediently rushed away, out of hearing range. Then he turned those red eyes on her, so different than Skywalker's bright blue gaze that for a moment, she was plagued with regret for not joining him long enough to get away from the alien before her.

"What do you want?" she bit out after a moment. Thrawn regarded her in silence for a moment, then took a seat.

"You promised me loyalty, Jade," he said simply.

"Well, maybe I enjoy a hunt."

"You're lying." He was so calm about it that Mara's heart thumped painfully in her chest. "I could have you killed, and no one would question me. You betrayed the Empire."

Her eyes narrowed, eyes flaming with hatred. "I would _never_ betray the Emp—!"

"Didn't you?" he questioned icily before she could finish. "You sent the Rebellion's hero, their one Jedi Knight and our biggest threat, back to our enemy."

Okay, so that was pretty incriminating…she blew out a sigh and let her shoulders sag in defeat. "Okay, fine. Kill me. I guess it's nothing less than I deserve."

"Do you love him?" Again, that icy calm Thrawn projected threw her threw a loop, and she gazed at him in speechless shock.

_"No!"_ she practically screeched, balling her hands into fists. Thrawn laughed a little at that.

"Well, I suppose that was convincing enough," he chuckled, and met her gaze again. "Fine. I will give you a chance to redeem yourself. I want Skywalker. I want you to bring him back alive, and then I want to watch you kill him. And Mara, you'd better kill him this time, or you'll wish you'd never betrayed me in the first place," he promised, his voice chilling. "Your ship has been prepped. Get to it. And be quick."

The cell door swooshed open, and Mara was free, just like that. She turned and bowed to Thrawn, breathless.

"Yes, of course, Admiral. You have my word," she swore, and he smiled. Then she was running toward the hanger, ready to chase after the one man in her life more confusing than the one she'd just left behind.

-

**Dantooine: A week later…**

Leia smiled as her brother stifled a yawn and stretched in his uncomfortable chair. Mon Montha was a wonderful woman, but she had a tendency to drone on for long periods of time. She knew Luke was eager for action; in an odd way, he was exactly like Han in that respect. They both were men who liked to go do rather than to stay and plan. That was her department, one she excelled at, though a part of her craved to be out there fighting as well. So far, apart from the rather sketchy details Luke provided, no one knew where to start with the Thrawn business. He hadn't made a move yet, but she had a very bad feeling about this guy. Luke had confided as much to her when she'd asked him as well. Mon Montha was concerned, but baffled. What was the Grand Admiral doing out there, so quietly that not even the smugglers could tell them much? It had to be bad, whatever it was.

She looked at her brother again. He'd pretty much gone back to his old self: warm, joking, funny, and yet something bothered her about him. Something about him wasn't right. If she could put a name on it, she'd say it felt as if he was _incomplete_. It was absurd, but there was no other way to describe it. Every so often, she'd catch him deep in thought, brow furrowed and blue eyes sparkling as if he were…remembering something. Or someone, if Leia's hunch was right. Han agreed with her about that, he definitely seemed to be preoccupied, and he'd said it was definitely a woman. He knew more about the symptoms than she would, anyway. Still, she wondered what woman had caught her brother's eye.

"Well," Han said, standing as Mon Montha finished her speech about Thrawn, "the thing that bothers me is, he's doing everything real quiet-like, but nothing's happening at all. We aren't gaining territory, the Imperials aren't gaining territory; they're not fighting, we're not fighting. It's like a stalemate. You think this guy even exists? Maybe what that Imperial told Luke was just a lie to get us all riled up."

"No!" Luke said abruptly, scrambling to his feet. He seemed wide-awake now. "No, she wouldn't have lied."

_She, huh?_ Leia thought as the pieces fell together. Not that she was thrilled with the idea that Luke was enraptured by an Imperial.

"Oh yeah? Why not? You are her enemy, after all," Han pointed out. Luke glared at him, and Leia felt his rare flow of anger. She'd felt him associate it with Han a few times in the past, but this was a little stronger than it had been before.

"She just…wouldn't lie. Why would she? She seemed pretty confident in his abilities, from what she told me," he finished lamely, and took his seat once more. Han took a deep breath and shook his head.

"All I'm saying is, if he's there, he sounds more like a ghost than an actual being. I think we should start flexing some power, here, while everything's still quiet."

While the leaders of the Rebellion erupted into arguments and battle plans over Han's statement, Leia grabbed her brother and they both slipped out.

"What's going on, Luke? Who is this she you were talking about?" she demanded, her brown eyes delving into his blue. He smiled at her a little.

"You're getting good at that, and I haven't even begun to train you," he commented wryly.

"Don't you dare change the subject on me," she warned, and this time he laughed.

"I, on the other hand, still need some practice," he joked, and then sobered again. "She was just a woman I met on Coruscant. She was kinda like a prison warden," he explained. Leia nodded, but didn't look entirely satisfied. He only shrugged and smiled again.

"She hates me anyway. Really, Leia, it's nothing. I'm back where I belong now." He smiled at her brightly. "Though if you drag me to one more of these meetings, I'll have to disown you," he added.

"Disown me? I don't think so, buddy," she shot back, and poked him in the chest. He laughed out loud and ruffled her hair.

"I _am_ your older brother," he reminded her.

"How do you know? We never found out who was older. And I certainly _act_ more mature than you," she countered. His blue eyes were sparkling as he nodded.

"True enough, but I have to be your older brother…I'm always having to protect you."

"I've done my fair share of saving your butt, Skywalker," she shot back, and for one moment Luke was tossed into memories of the days he'd spent with Mara. He laughed at the thought of her saying what his sister just had and decided it would never happen.

"I guess you're right. You did save me on Bespin. Though I got you off of Tatooine…and then there was the Death Star fiasco."

"I _knew_ you were too short to be a stormtrooper," she added, eyes alight with happy memories. His laughter rang out again and he nodded.

"I'm surprised no one else said anything," he admitted. "I'm surprised we made it that far at all." He put an arm around her shoulders and drew her back to the conference room. "Come on, Leia…Han's probably waiting."

_And didn't that_, Leia thought to herself with a smile, _have a nice ring to it?_

-

It wasn't until that night that Luke tried to reach Mara again, and this time, to his surprise, he reached her on the first try.

_//Mara…hi!//_

//Skywalker,// she replied grimly.

_//I don't like that tone. What's going on, Mara?//_

//Watch your back.//

//Mara?//

//And don't trust me. Never trust me.//

He paced, trying to puzzle out her words. _//Mara…at least tell me if you're alright.//_

//I'm fine. Not that it's any of your business.//

//We have a bond now, Mara. I'll be able to tell if you're lying to me,// he warned with a smirk. He could feel her reluctant amusement.

_//Wipe that grin off your face, Skywalker.//_

//My name's Luke, remember?// he insisted, his smile widening.

_//You're bad for my health,// _she informed him matter-of-factly. He started to laugh, unable to help it.

_//Yeah, I seem to have that effect on people,// _he agreed.

_//Must be hell on your love-life,// _she teased. He laughed again.

_//What love-life?// _he countered.

_//Now that's sad. The 'hero of the Rebellion' doesn't have a girlfriend?//_

//Nope.//

//What, women aren't throwing themselves all over you, Skywalker?//

//It's LUKE—L-U-K-E—and no, they're not. Well…if they are, I wasn't paying much attention.//

//Really? And you're the most eligible bachelor in the galaxy?//

He froze, tabloid holos floating in front of his eyes. He let out a horrified breath. _//Please, Mara, tell me you're joking.//_

Now it was her turn to laugh, and he could feel her doing just that. She laughed for a long time, then teased, _//'Fraid so, Farmboy. It's all over the holonet.//_

//Oh man…//

//So…you don't pay attention to drooling women, eh Skywalker?//

//LUKE! And let's just say that a certain red-head with emerald-green eyes spoiled all other women for me,// he teased back, and grinned in satisfaction when she froze.

_//SKYWALKER!//_

//LUKE!// he sent back, still grinning. _//And I _**so**_ had you.//_

//You did not!//

//Oh yes I did,// he replied, sitting down and closing his eyes in order to picture her better; her red-gold hair tumbling about her slender shoulders, her eyes alight with the fire that always told him he was in trouble. But he pictured her with a smirk on her face, amused in spite of herself, and burned that picture into his memory.

_//Maybe you did,//_ she conceded, smiling a little. Then she got serious again. _//But, seriously, watch out for me…I'm supposed to hunt you down, capture you, drag you to Thrawn, and kill you in front of him.//_

Luke frowned and sent, _//Does he have something against me personally?//_

//Nah, he's just pissed that I let you go.//

//Thanks for that, by the way.// Gratitude softened his Force-voice. Mara shook her head.

_//Don't worry about it, Skywalker.//_

//Are you gonna kill me?// he asked, a smile tugging at his lips. Mara grinned and crossed her arms.

_//I guess that depends on how nice you are to me,//_ she retorted. _//Now get some sleep, Farmboy. And don't count on me being your friend the next time we meet.//_

//I'll be careful. Sleep well, Mara.//

//Yeah, you too.//

Then, once she was alone with her thoughts again, Mara realized what had just happened and shook her head. _How does he **do** that?_ she fumed. She sure was having a hard time not liking him all of a sudden. _Oh, of all the harebrained—Geez, I shouldn't have told him about my mission…oh man, I really am getting soft._

It was almost scary to realize that the fact she was getting soft around a certain Jedi didn't bother her anymore.

_I'm in trouble._

-

Luke's dreams were riddled with visions that night, some fleeting, others lingering. Some of them had his sister in them, some of them had Han and Chewie…but mostly, they were about Mara. There were two of her, one with angel wings and one with demon wings. He walked toward Mara the Angel, and she accepted his embrace, but then he felt a sharp pain between his shoulder blades. He reached back in confusion, and his hand contacted something warm and unpleasantly wet. He pulled his hand back only to discover it was covered in blood. He looked up at Mara the Angel. She was smiling, but it wasn't the beautiful smile she wore when she was happy…it was a sadistic smile, a bloodthirsty smile. He tried to pull away, horrified, but found that her grip was too strong. She pined him to a very jagged cross and tied him to it securely, eyes burning with unholy light.

_Didn't you know, Skywalker? _she mocked, though her lips did not move.

_Know what? _he asked, trying not to move. Every time he did, a fresh lance of pain tore through him.

_Your family is made to be sacrificed. Your father, you…and your sister._

Leia? No, leave Leia alone!

Mara the Angel only smiled cruelly and pushed the cross upright, leaving him high above the ground. She fluttered up to him, leaned in to kiss his lips. It was an icy kiss, one full of malice and sarcastic affection.

_And all of the Skywalker sacrifices…are made in vain!_

And as his world went black, he caught sight of Mara the Demon. She was weeping, her glorious, fiery hair hiding her face from him. He could feel her grief through their bond, and anguish ripped through him. He didn't want to be the cause of her pain. He should have been able to sense the real her through their bond…so why hadn't he.

_Mara!_ he screamed, and then there was nothingness.

-

He shot awake, sweating and trembling, and there was an ache in his heart that he'd never felt before. He'd have to tread lightly if he wanted to avoid what he'd foreseen in his vision. Would he be able to recognize the truth before it was too late?

Suddenly he felt very, very tired. He didn't think he had the strength to save himself and Mara from the vision he'd just had. He lowered his head in despair. Then he felt a warm, sleepy presence brush the edges of his mind in mild curiosity.

_//You call me, Skywalker?//_ Mara implored, her tiredness easily apparent through their bond. _//You better have a good reason, or I might be tempted to drag you to Thrawn after all.//_

He smiled into the darkness and shook his head. _//Sorry, Mara, just a bad dream. Go back to sleep,// _he urged.

_//Must have been a doozy, if you got through to me,// _she observed, smothering a yawn.

_//Or else our bond is growing stronger,// _he mused. She was a lot nicer when she was sleeping, he decided, chuckling.

_//Hey, I heard that,//_ she warned, but the effect was ruined when she yawned again. Then, in delayed amazement. _//I really AM going soft. Damn. This is all your fault, Skywalker.//_

He laughed and replied, _//So what else is new?//_

Mara smiled. Trust him to renew one of her favorite memories. _//Well, are you okay, Skywalker?//_

//Yeah, I'm fine now. Good job, Dr. Mara.//

//Ha. Just remember: I don't do housecalls.//

//You really are nicer when you're sleepy.//

//Yeah, well, I'll make you pay for it when I wake up,// she warned. He laughed. _I bet you will, Mara_, he thought to himself. To her, he sent, _//Go back to sleep, Red.//_

//Red, huh? I can live with it, I guess. Sith, I've been called worse. All right, Farmboy. Good night.//

He didn't have anymore trouble sleeping that night.

-

Thrawn gazed at the monitor portraying the location of Mara Jade's ship and considered his options. He had no doubt that she would betray him. That wasn't the issue. Since he was expecting it, he could deal with it. She would be punished, that was for sure. Then he shrugged it off and turned to one of the officers in the room.

"General?"

"Yes, Grand Admiral?" the officer replied, swiftly coming to attention and saluting. Thrawn returned it and clasped his hands behind his back.

"I want to know how long it would take us to get to this planet," he said, and pointed to a planet a holo display of the galaxy. The General regarded it and answered, "Four weeks, Admiral."

Thrawn smiled to himself and nodded.

"Very well, General. Get us there."

"Yes, sir!" he replied, and turned to the deck crew, issuing orders smartly.

_I'm just moving my first pawn. Soon the Rebellion will bow before the power of my Queen, _he thought, and returned to his personal quarters.


	3. Chapter 3: Part of the Job

****

Dantooine: Three days later…

Well, she should have known it wasn't going to be easy to find him, even on a backwater planet like Dantooine. Whether he was aware of it or not, Luke Skywalker was very adept at shielding himself. Even from his reluctant bondmate, Mara Jade. She knew what he was doing—trying to force her to tap into her Force abilities—and she resented him for it. Though, she reflected with a humorous smirk, there was a lot she resented him for. Some of those things weren't really his fault either. Still, blaming everything on him made life a lot easier, and he handled it rather well, considering. Banishing the smirk, she finished climbing the rocky knoll she'd landed near and shielded her eyes from the glare the double suns threw off of the planet's relatively plain surface. She scanned the area, then headed back down the other side and straight for the town about two kilometers away. Then, suddenly, the barriers between her and her bondmate were lifted, and awareness of him flooded back. Her whole body tingled as she got herself accustomed to his presence again. Not being on the same planet with him for the past two or three weeks, having limited access to him, had abruptly cut her off from the heighten perception she'd gotten used to when they had been together.

_//Mara,//_ he said through his Force-voice, more warmly than he should have, considering they were still _technically_ enemies. She forced herself not to answer him, but she did zero in on his location and started moving swiftly toward his position.

_//Mara, I know you said not to trust you…//_

//Makes you a bigger fool than I thought, Skywalker. I even warned you before hand. You're getting good at shielding, by the way,// she snapped.

_//So you're my enemy.//_

//Yup.//

//You didn't call me Farmboy…//

//Alright, Skywalker, here's what I'll do, since you're so painfully naïve…when I'm after you, I'll call you Skywalker. When I need you, or I'm not hunting you down, I'll call you Farmboy.//

//Oh yeah? And when are you not hunting me down?// he questioned, sounding slightly put-off by her tone. Well, it wasn't anything he didn't deserve, anyway.

_//I'm doing my job. I'm Thrawn's toy now, remember?//_

//You don't have to be. I already told you that you could join me,// he insisted, but she shook her head and wondered again if he would ever find a wife with his incessant tendency to nag.

_//And I already told you that I can't.//_

//You said you wouldn't kill me,// he shot back defiantly, and she rolled her eyes.

_//I said no such thing. I still have my original plans for killing you, you know. Sometimes I still think it's a pretty damn good idea.//_

//Liar,// he replied lightheartedly.

_//No, not really. Sometimes I really do want to shoot you.//_

He laughed. _//Sometimes, Jade, I feel the same way.//_

//You want to shoot yourself?// she asked.

_//Ha ha. I'd say now is one of those times.//_

She snickered. _//Likewise, Skywalker.//_

//Uh-oh, guess I better watch out.//

//Nah, that was a 'Farmboy' in disguise.//

She was confusing, that was for sure, but it was such a change from all of the girls in the Rebel Alliance it was refreshing. Of course, her having a desire to kill him kind of put a damper on any romantic thoughts, but she seemed like a good person to have at your back in a scrape. Of course, in his case, she'd probably slid a knife into it, but he liked to think he was getting to her. Which he was, but Mara would have died before admitting any such thing. The fact that she didn't think of him as the Rebellion's personal 'knight in shining armor' was a relief, since—now that she had so kindly pointed it out—there really were women practically fainting into his arms to get some attention. He'd never paid it much attention before because of all the things that needed to be done. Things such as blowing up the first Death Star, giving evacuees time to escape from the Rebel base on Hoth, training, rescuing Han and Leia from Darth Vader, rescuing Han, Leia, Chewie and the droids from Jabba the Hutt, more training, destroying the shield generator on Endor, and finally, turning his father away from the Dark Side. But now there was a lull in the fighting, and in the doldrums between meeting after boring meeting, woman after woman would go out of their way to be in his. It had gotten to the point that Luke was hiding in his room or his X-wing most of the time.

At the moment, he was tucked away in his X-wing, fiddling with the controls in order to coax more power out of it. He frowned slightly, toying with the shields in his head, trying to mask his position without breaking their contact. Mara stopped moving.

_//I was wondering when you'd get around to that,//_ she muttered in his head, sounding a little frustrated.

_//So, you've abandoned the Emperor's plans for me, eh?//_

//I'm trying to keep my head, Skywalker. I can't turn you if I'm dead. And let's face it, Thrawn wouldn't even know where to start with you. Hell, **I** don't even know where to start with you.//

//He'll kill you?// Luke asked, bolting upright in his chair. This abrupt motion caused his head to come sharply in contact with the cockpit's hatch, and he promptly sat back down and rubbed his head.

_//Well, what did you think he was going to do with me? Take me out for a picnic?//_ she replied sarcastically. He frowned, still rubbing his head, and tried to think.

_//If it's me he wants, I'll go to him. I'm not about to be the reason _another_ one of the people I know gets killed.//_

//Skywalker, you are dumb. He doesn't want you—or he does, but not alive. Not even if you were to turn. Nah, this guy knows that if there's a Sith lord around, he'd lose his power. He's not to far off, either. Remember, the Emperor wanted me to talk you into killing Thrawn?//

He laughed, memories of one particular evening floating back to him. _//Talk me into it, Mara?//_ he shot back teasingly, and she fumed.

_//And there's the urge to shoot you again…//_

He only laughed harder, but then, Mara had already discovered that all Jedi were nuts. She wondered if he'd still laugh when she turned him to the Dark Side, as her true Master had ordered. Kind of a stupid thought, but she didn't think she'd like it if she couldn't hear him laughing anymore. Then again, would he even be him anymore, or just a dark, twisted, power-hungry murder like Vader had been? She couldn't imagine Luke Skywalker not teasing her mercilessly, not laughing when she shot back retorts to his smart little comments. Suddenly, she didn't want to. But hadn't the Emperor said that when Skywalker turned, she could be his Hand? That wasn't sounding too bad. She'd have her position back, her freedom back, and she'd have his trust in her abilities, unlike Thrawn. No worries about him wanting to kill her.

_//You'd better hurry, Mara. I won't be on Dantooine long,// _he told her, smirking to himself. Mara swore under her breath, then focused on him again.

_//Really? I'll track you down, don't you worry about that.//_

//Not worried in the slightest.//

//Stupid Jedi.//

//Must come with the job description,// he retorted. Then, as he broke contact to fully shield himself once more, he added, _//Catch me if you can.//_

Well that was that. She'd have to catch him now, he'd challenged her. The only problem was, how was she going to capture him and kill him before Thrawn, _and_ turn him to the Dark Side to kill Thrawn?

-

Luke wasn't on Dantooine very long after that. In fact, the next morning he was prepping his X-wing for flight. Leia stood nearby, watching his flight-suite clad body climb up the cockpit ladder, press a few buttons, then hop down and jog around to the wing foil on the right side and fiddle with something, then to the nose, then to the left wing foil, back to the cockpit—he was making her dizzy, but it was nice to see him so excited once more.

"I missed my X-wing even before we left for our mission on Endor. It's good to be working on her again," he told her when he caught her eye. She laughed at him.

"You're starting to sound like Han," she teased.

"What? Starting to have common sense?" a familiar voice asked, and both Leia and Luke turned to see Han walking toward them.

"Common sense? You've got the common sense of a taun-taun," Luke retorted as his best friend slid an arm around his sister's shoulders. Leia relaxed against his side, taking comfort in his presence, and for a moment Luke wondered what it felt like to hold a woman and have her melt against him simply because she could. Not that their hadn't been offers, just none Luke was tempted to accept.

"_Falcon_'s prepped and ready to go when you are. The others are already leaving," Han told them, pointedly ignoring the last comment. Luke grinned and nodded, accepting his sister's hug as he moved back toward the X-wing's cockpit.

"Then I'll see you both there. And Han, you'd better take care of my sister," he warned, only half-joking. Han nodded and mock-saluted.

"See ya, Commander," he replied, and Luke mimicked the salute.

"'Bye, General."

-

Mara jogged up to the rapidly emptying base, hoping that she sounded breathless enough to convince the guards she'd been running for a long time. She saluted to a passing officer, then grabbed a techie.

"Hey…I'm a new recruit, and…well," she paused, trying to look and sound embarrassed, "I lost the coordinates for the jump. Could you refresh my memory?"

If it had been an Imperial, she would have been locked up in a cell before she could blink. But at the Rebel base, things were quite different. The tech glanced at her identity badge—one she'd put together herself in a nearby town—more out of curiosity than suspicion, then nodded and wrote the coordinates down for her.

"Thanks!" she exclaimed softly. "You're a lifesaver!"

The tech smiled. "My pleasure. Have a safe trip," he replied, and went back to work.

"Oh, one more thing…Commander Skywalker wouldn't happen to still be here, would he? I've got something he was looking for."

"Your lucky day I guess," the tech smiled. "Commander Skywalker's just outside, prepping his X-wing. Better hurry, though, because he's probably getting close to leaving."

"Thanks again!" she called over her shoulder, already jogging toward the hanger-bay doors. She caught sight of him climbing into his cockpit as Solo and Organa headed toward what looked to be a flying trash heap. Shrugging it off, she sprinted toward the X-wing, grabbing onto the ladder and pulling herself up as the cockpit hatch came down. She slipped in before the opportunity slipped by, then straddled his hips and pressed a blaster to his temple.

"Caught ya," she said out loud. Luke smiled wryly.

"Guess you did. Though, Mara, X-wings aren't built for two people."

"Like you need to remind me," she snapped back, reluctant amusement slipping into her sense for a brief moment. Her back was pressed up against the control panel, and she had to duck her head to keep it from banging against the hatch. "Now, the question is, what to do with you? I'm certainly not having you fly us to Coruscant in this thing…but if you don't leave in your X-wing, your friends will get worried. So I guess we'll just have to meet them at their new base."

Even as she spoke, her ship was en-route, courtesy of a comm-link, a helpful tech who'd handed her the coordinates, and an extremely capable droid.

"So…you're gonna let me go?" he asked hopefully, and Mara smirked.

"Not on your life. Get comfy, Skywalker. We're gonna see just how well this thing can handle two passengers," she replied, and he gaped at her.

"What, you're gonna sit in my lap the whole way there? That's six days in hyperspace!" he exclaimed as she easily turned over and settled herself between his thighs. It was a tight fit, considering his knees were now mashed up against the sides of the cockpit, but it would work. Six days wasn't that long.

"Yup, all your dreams have come true, Skywalker," she replied. "Six days alone with me in your stuffy little cockpit."

"Yeah, you sure do know how to bring a man's fantasies to life, Mara," he replied dryly, trying not to shift around too much. It was conceivably workable—if only barely. The good thing was, neither one of them were tall, nor was he very broad-shouldered himself—something he was teased about mercilessly by Han—so they would both fit, it would just be rather uncomfortable. Still, he could probably go into a trance for most of it, and just have Artoo wake him up when it was time to drop out of hyperspace.

"Let's get this thing moving, Skywalker," she said, and reluctantly settled back against his chest. He flipped a switch and the comm came to life.

"All right, Han, let's get going," he said.

"See ya there, kid," the other replied, and Luke abruptly shut off the comm again. Good, no one had seen Mara slip into the cockpit with him. Reaching around her, he keyed a few controls and they lifted off. Twenty minutes after that, they were in hyperspace.

"You know," he murmured against her ear, "you're very persistent when you're on a mission."

Little shivers ran up and down her spine at the feeling of his lips and breath against that sensitive part of her skin. She masked it well, however, and tried hard to keep her voice level.

"That's part of _my_ job description."

"Is it really?" he mused, still very close to her ear. She shifted uncomfortably and found herself wishing she didn't need him alive. No, that wasn't true. She was really wishing they were someplace a bit more roomy than the cockpit of his X-wing, and that their relationship was a whole hell of a lot different. It only lasted a fleeting moment however, and she pressed the nozzle of her blaster against his side.

"Just don't get any ideas," she replied.

"Who me?" he asked innocently, then shifted a little and closed his eyes. "It was your idea to join me."

"Yeah, and already I'm starting to regret it," she muttered, but turned gingerly onto her side to allow him more room. Using his chest as a make-shift pillow, she rested her head on it and let her own eyes slip shut.

"Well, I'll probably be in Jedi trance the whole way there, so you won't have to put up with me a whole lot," he replied, yawning.

"Mmm…" she replied. She'd been going days without sleep, so a nice long nap was sounding pretty good to her too. And, damn his hide, he was very warm—a little generator, in fact—and it was lulling her to sleep. "Think you could put me into one of those?"

"Sure…" He put his arms around her, and she stiffened and nearly pulled away. "Relax, I'm not going to do anything."

"Yeah, well, most men would have lost their arms for that particular maneuver," she growled against his chest. He chuckled.

"You want to be put into a trance or not, Jade?" he replied, and she replied, "Then get on with it, and be quick."

A few seconds later, she was sleeping soundly against him. He smiled a little, opening his eyes to look at her. She was a lot more peaceful in sleep, the worries and anxieties erased from her normally guarded face. He traced his left hand though her silky hair and watched it slip through his fingers. If circumstances were different, he might have fallen in love with her. Considering who they were to each other, though, it wasn't very likely that they'd even manage a real friendship. Besides, he didn't want to care about her and then have her put in danger because of it. That always seemed to happen to people he cared about—Owen and Beru, Biggs, Han, Leia, Chewie, Lando, his father, Wedge. Hell, even the droids got into trouble because of him.

_So,_ he thought as his eyes slid shut once more and he started to put himself into a trance, _this is what it's like to have a woman melt against you. Too bad she would never do it without being put into a trance._

And then he too was sleeping like a baby, with her cradled against his chest. A Jedi Knight and his assassin, paired against even their own liking. The galaxy got stranger by the day.

-

Luke woke up two hours earlier than he expected, for no real reason at all. It was a gradual wakeup, a slow drift back into reality, and he held the warm, soft person in his arms closer. His grip on reality was loose enough in his hazy half-consciousness for him to think that he was lying next to someone who really cared for him, and he buried his face into her neck. _Go back to sleep,_ he told himself groggily, and he slid under again.

An hour and a half later, Mara woke up, cradled against a warm chest by a strong pair of arms clasped securely around her waist. She didn't want to wake up, but subconsciously knew she wouldn't be able to go back to sleep, either. So she stayed there, unwilling to move, more in dreams than in reality. Funny, she'd never pictured him as being strong, but she could feel the muscles of his chest under her cheek, and there was strength in the arms that held her pinned to him. He smelled good, too, but how he managed that after being in a stuffy cockpit for six days without a trip to the 'fresher was a mystery to her. His chest rose and fell in a smooth, rhythmic motion, unperturbed that he was in such close confines with the woman who'd pledge to kill him.

Awareness snapped back to her then, when she realized just whom she was musing about. She lifted her head from his chest slightly and looked up into his sleeping face, lost in the wonder of some dream, looking every bit the innocent farmboy that was still there, just under the surface of the Jedi Knight destiny had forced him to become. Yes, Luke Skywalker would be a fine catch for the lucky woman he picked. After only a few days, she knew he was kind, generous to a fault, and completely absorbed in finding the good in everyone. Even, she thought with a wry smile, an assassin hell-bent on taking him out. He would survive her this time, just as he had the first time, and he would survive Thrawn. He would grow old, taking on one Jedi student after another, until those damnable beings were everywhere, always knowing just what to do and say.

And it didn't bother her anymore. Maybe Skywalker had the right idea. Of course, she'd have to try to turn him, she'd have to try to kill him, but she knew he'd survive just as he always, always had. A little banged up, maybe, but he'd emerge triumphant simply because he was too good to die at the hands of someone as tainted as her or as power-hungry as Thrawn.

She closed her eyes again, let the Emperor's Hand come back, and she pulled out of his arms. Her muscles tensed once more, her eyes cooled back to frosty green, and she prepared herself for the long journey ahead. But, deep down, there would always be the revelations she'd just come to realize herself. Maybe, if they both survived this—though she doubted that—they'd be something more than enemies with a common enemy.

-

The planet had been lost for many years, deliberately erased long ago by a senator by the name of Palpatine, and had since then been used as a warehouse for the man's more…personal artifacts. Including, Thrawn thought with a smile, several items that he too would find useful. There was no name for the place, but he'd once overheard the Emperor refer to it as 'Wayland'. And the warehouse wasn't the only item that Thrawn was interested. There was someone he would enjoy meeting there, as well. Of course, certain precautions had to be taken before he could come into contact with that particular individual, but a few of his personal transports were heading toward another interesting planet to provide the means he'd need.

The Rebellion's lack of response to the Empire's change in command wasn't anything he hadn't expected. In fact, he'd counted on it. Rising their suspicions by not doing much was just what he wanted to do. They wouldn't realize what he was really doing until it was far too late, but then, that was the entire point of his plot. Soon, with patience, there would be no Rebellion. And patience was one thing Thrawn had in spades. After all, he'd waited nearly thirty years to become a Grand Admiral after first joining the Empire's ranks. This would seem like the blink of an eye compared to that.

"Land near that mountain," he instructed a helmsman, then strode toward his personal quarters. "Prepare a strike team as well, and a shuttle. I want to be in that mountain by nightfall," he added as he left, and the crew scrambled to see it done. Then he checked up on his Hand, who appeared to be en-route to the remains of Cloud City in Bespin. There wasn't much there anymore, but it was just like the Rebels to pick yet another set of ruins to appropriate. Still, as long as his Hand succeeded in getting Luke Skywalker, the location of the Rebel base wasn't really relevant.

His Hand was another matter entirely. He didn't fully trust her, but then he'd expected that, too. Skywalker had a way of getting to people, and no doubt the late Sith lord would want a mere alien to take charge of the Empire indefinitely. Which meant that the Hand's orders from her late master and the order he'd given her were in conflict. It would be fascinating to see how it turned out, considering the woman's own desire to see the Jedi dead. If Skywalker was as resourceful as the reports on him claimed him to be, he'd manage to get on Jade's good side. This, however, was something Thrawn was hoping to avoid, hence his backup plan. If his Hand were to fully turn her back on the Empire, then he'd simply have to find a replacement. And with the Emperor's gadgets at his disposal, that wasn't going to be a difficult task at all.

The strike team was ready and waiting when the shuttle landed, and they obediently followed Thrawn up the mountain and into a vast storage facility.

"Welcome to the future of the Empire," he announced, and strolled over to one of the ten thousand spaarti cloning cylinders. "And what a future it will be. You lucky few are here to watch me set it in motion."

And the strike team watched as the one of the cylinders was activated and, for the first time since the clone wars decades earlier, used.

-

Cloud City was only a shadow of what it once was, but the sight of it hovering lazily in the clouds still took Luke's breath away. It had been inhabited by the Imperials for a while, but without Lando Calrissian's booming business, the City had dried up and the Imperials were forced to relocate. Still, it hovered like some sort of jewel in the sky, surrounded by thick clouds turned brilliant shades of orange and red by the setting sun. Mara whistled softly under her breath, and felt Luke's own appreciative intake of breath.

"Amazing, isn't it?" he murmured, eyes locked onto the City. "I first came here on a wild, half-thought-through rescue attempt. Vader had Han and Leia captive. This is where…" He glanced down at his right hand. His prosthetic right hand.

"You lost your hand," she finished quietly. He nodded, tracing a finger on his left hand over his right hand. She glanced at it, resting lightly on the X-wing's controls as he gently steered it toward one of the City's landing pads. She touched it out of curiosity, craning her neck to judge the expression on her face. His crystal-blue eyes gazed unflinchingly into hers.

"Does it ever hurt?" she asked, twisting slightly in his lap. A little smile curved his lips.

"Sometimes, when I think about it too much."

As her fingers traced over his palm, he laced his own through them. Her hand reflexively jerked back, but Luke tightened his grip. She remained tense for a few moments, then relaxed slowly. Then he reached down and grabbed her left hand too, and, still grasping both, he used her hands to steer the X-wing.

"Vader took it, didn't he?"

"Yes, just before he told me I was his son. I didn't want to believe him. It was too painful," he murmured, close to her ear again out of necessity. She froze and craned around to look at him again.

"What?" she asked, eyes searching his wildly. He gazed at her, a little confused.

"That was when Vader told me I was his son."

So that was what the whole thing had been about. Even beyond the grave, the Emperor was trying to use her to exact out final revenge against Darth Vader. Eyes still glazed over, she turned back to gaze at the City. But Luke realized what had surprised her.

"You mean, you didn't know?"

"No, I didn't know."

"Well…it didn't matter much anyway. Vader and my father were…two separate beings in one body, I guess you could say," he continued softly.

Oh, but it did matter. She really had been just a pawn, a well-trained police dog. No wonder Thrawn enjoyed baiting her so much. Gods, how naïve could she be?

"I'm sorry," she said softly, tilting her head to gaze at him from the corners of her eyes. "For everything. I mean it." There, she'd said it. It wasn't as hard as she feared it would be. She could feel their bond strengthen and hold, as if someone had reinforced it somehow.

"You don't have to be sorry, Mara. None of it was your fault." He smiled as they landed smoothly, her hands still locked in his. "In fact, talking to you about it makes me feel better. Ironic, isn't it? You're my enemy, but you're also the person who knows me better than anyone else in the world."

She flipped over, straddling him again in order to look at him without craning. "Really, Skywalker?"

He nodded, his eyes bright and earnest. "Our bond makes it that way," he replied.

She smiled a little bitterly and shook her head. He deserved someone better to be bonded to.

"Uhm…Mara," he whispered after a moment.

"Mmm?"

"How are we gonna get out without someone noticing that you've been in here?" he asked. She paused.

"Good question. All right, Farmboy—" she refused to smile back when he beamed at the use of the nickname—"you get out first, and I'll lay low until the coast is clear. We'll talk later tonight."

"All right. See you tonight, Red," he replied, and gently moved out from under her as the hatch opened.

"Yeah, count on it," she replied.

-

The world had changed for Mara in the blink of an eye. She had two options left, since she most certainly wasn't about to sink as low as exacting revenge. One was to carry out Thrawn's mission, the other was to take Skywalker up on his offer and join the Rebellion. It was strange—when she wasn't with Skywalker, she detested the idea of becoming a Rebel and detested even more the idea of liking him. When she was with him, she couldn't help but like him, and though she'd never admit it, sometimes when he was talking about his friends, she _did_ want to join his side. She was still thinking about it at midnight, when Skywalker's head suddenly popped into view and the hatch opened.

"Come on, you'll sleep better inside, and I want to talk to you," he said, blue eyes dancing.

"I hope you're not trying to impress me with your prowess on your own base," she bit out, and he laughed.

"Nothing that sneaky, I just wanted to come get you," he replied, lifting her agilely out of the cockpit. She took three swift steps back as soon as her feet touched the ground, eager to put some distance between them. His expression didn't change, but a flash of pain shot across his eyes. Ignoring it, she prowled forward, heading toward the skywalk. He grabbed her hand before she could get too far.

"This way, Mara," he told her, and pointed to the window that was his room. She pulled her hand away and stalked toward it, trying to reestablish some barriers between them. Recognizing the effort, Luke shook his head and mutely followed.

"You still hate me," he murmured after a moment. Her step faltered for half a second.

"That's not it," she muttered finally, moving faster in order to put even more distance between them. He matched her strides however, eyes glowing with intensity.

"Then what is it? Mara," he took her shoulders firmly in his hands and turned her to face him. "What is it that makes you jerk back from me like I burn you? Why won't you just open up and admit it—I'm not that damn bad. I mean, I don't expect you to announce your undying love or anything, but I'm trying to be your friend!"

So Jedi Knights could lose their temper. It made Luke Skywalker seem all that much more human to her. An endearing little character flaw. But she had to put some distance between them before she was in danger of something far scarier than Thrawn's wrath if she refused to listen to him.

"Oh how the mighty fall," she finally snapped after a moment of silence.

"What's that supposed to mean?" he snapped back, resisting the urge to shake some common sense into her.

"It means, you don't always get what you want, Skywalker! We're not friends, we're not ever gonna be friends, okay? We're not even after the same thing!" She tried to yank away from him, but he pulled her closer, so close their noses were brushing.

"You don't have to do this the hard way, Mara. We could be friends, you're a very likeable person."

"Gee, thanks, Skywalker. I feel all warm and fuzzy inside."

"Sarcasm isn't going to work on me, Mara. Our bond won't allow you to push me away," he told her, and she lashed out at him.

"I'm so sick of hearing about that damn bond--!"

"Get used to it!"

"You are _so_ infuriating!"

"So are you!"

Then the pair lapsed into silence, trying to will each other into doing what they each wanted. Her eyes were a vibrant, brilliant emerald color even in the night, on fire with frustration. His eyes were perfectly blue and moving, almost like a stormy ocean. It was fascinating to behold, and Mara felt some of her frustration drain away.

"Damn you, Luke Skywalker. What do you want from me?" she finally growled, afraid her voice would crack. He lowered his forehead to hers and closed his eyes, his grip on her shoulders loosening ever so slightly.

"Just your friendship, Mara Jade."

"That's it?"

"That's it," he confirmed. He opened his eyes and met her brilliant gaze.

"No strings?" she ventured, sounding more and more like a frightened child. Luke smiled patiently.

"No strings. Just because you're my friend doesn't mean you're my pawn. I don't own you. Personally, I like you free too much to ever cage you down. You don't have to do anything you don't want to. You don't even have to join the Rebellion if it bothers you that much. I don't want to see you unhappy." His blue eyes blazed with earnest compassion and hope.

"All right, dammit. But I still don't like you very much," she snapped, pulling away. Luke tried to keep a triumphant, happy smile from his face and failed miserably.

"I know," he replied, and led her into his room.

-

Leia watched from her window—one which overlooked the landing pad that Luke had set his X-wing down on, incidentally—as Luke walked in a quick beeline straight toward his fighter. She wondered what he was doing out there, and moved to grab her boots when she saw him pull a woman out of the cockpit of the ship. Her mouth dropped open. Had that woman been in the X-wing with Luke on the whole trip to Bespin? That would mean that she'd been in the cockpit with him for six days. She stopped moving and watched the scene in curiosity. Soon it became obvious that they were fighting, and she watched as Luke chased the woman across a skyway. He took her by the shoulders, and then dipped his head toward hers. Leia couldn't really make it out, but he appeared to be kissing her! Then he pulled back and they headed toward his room.

_Well, well, well…I wonder who that woman is…_she thought, desperately wanting to meet the woman that had so obviously ensnared her brother. No wonder he'd been feeling incomplete until recently, he was in love!

_I think I'll have to pay the happy couple a visit._

-

Falling asleep in Luke Skywalker's bed was something Mara had never imagined herself doing. She stretched out under the sheets, tested the softness of the pillows, and finally curled into a comfortable position and tried to go to sleep. Luke's comforting presence was near, right in the other room, in fact, but it didn't really help. He'd insisted that she take the bed, gentleman that she now knew he was, and had stretched out on the couch. He, being able to find a comfortable spot anywhere, had fallen asleep almost immediately, so Mara had spread a blanket over him when she'd been sure he was way beyond the point of waking up.

She couldn't stop thinking about the mess she'd gotten herself into. She was with a man she could hardly stand for more than five minutes, in the middle of an enemy base deep into enemy territory, much like he had been upon their first meeting. Every time she closed her eyes she could see the Emperor's burning yellow eyes and Thrawn's equally fire red ones, and she could hear Luke crying out in pain.

She had a mission to carry out, whether she was his friend or not, but she couldn't do it. Not now that he'd broken through her outer shell. She knew he'd given her a place in his heart, and maybe in time he'd have a place in hers, provided she could think of a way to get them both out of this mess. She'd have to take him to Coruscant before too long or Thrawn would get suspicious…but then what? Would she have to kill him? She didn't think she was capable of that anymore.

After a tossing and turning a great deal more, she managed to get comfortable and was just closing her eyes when someone entered the room. She shot into an upright position, blaster already in hand, and pointed it straight at Leia Organa's forehead.

"Rather jumpy, aren't we?" Organa commented, taking a seat near the foot of the bed. "You can relax, all I want is a few answers."

"Oh yeah?" Mara replied warily as she set the blaster down. "Answers to what?"

"Your name would be a good start."

Mara regarded the woman with a bit of grudging respect. She even managed to be regal in the dead of night.

"Mara Jade," she answered after a moment, and Organa nodded.

"Well, I assume you know who I am," she returned, and Mara mimicked the nod.

"Now I'd like to know just how you know my brother."

"Skywalker? We met…on Coruscant."

"I thought as much," Organa murmured with a nod. She made no move to sound an alarm, however, and Mara blinked.

"You're not going to call in your Rebel friends and throw me in some cell?" she asked.

"Luke trusts you, that's enough for me," Organa replied, and Mara threw a glance his way. He'd been right, some people would accept her simply because he had. "Why? Should I be calling in troops?"

Mara smiled a bit weakly, her respect for this woman growing even against her will. "No, I'm not going to hurt him."

"After the kiss he gave you out on the skyway? I should hope not," Organa managed with a laugh.

"Kiss? What kiss?" Mara was thoroughly confused.

"He kissed you…didn't he? Out there, when you two were fighting?"

"You _saw_ that? No, no…that wasn't a kiss. He was just trying to talk me into joining your Rebellion. No kissing," Mara replied quickly, and Organa laughed again.

"I see. My apologies, then. It's too bad, you look like you'd be good for him. He's been bored out of his mind recently." Organa through her brother an affectionate look. "And when you're here, he feels complete again."

This was getting way too weird. She was getting Leia Organa's blessings to go after her once-archenemy. She almost laughed herself.

"Complete, eh? Pretty amazing, since I was after his blood until a few days ago."

"Isn't that how the best relationships start?" Organa asked, laughing again. Yes, Mara could believe that she and Luke were twins—they had the same laugh, and it came often and with warmth. "I wanted to kill Han for the first few months I knew him, too."

"Han? Oh, you're talking about Solo. Yeah, I could see why you'd want to kill him," Mara agreed, and Leia's eyes danced with good humor.

"Oh yes, you'd definitely be good for Luke—you'd keep him on his toes. Well, I guess that all I needed to know. Sorry to have scared you like that."

Mara shrugged. "No big deal."

"Good night then, Mara Jade."

"Good night, Leia Organa."

The smaller woman offered Mara a departing smile, then disappeared back the way she'd come. Mara sank back into the bed shaking her head. The Skywalker family was sure a weird one. Then she smiled at the thought of Han marrying into it. That would make it even weirder. But she carefully kept herself from thinking about Organa's thoughts on her and Luke. That would be _way_ too weird.

It was too dark for Mara to see, but Luke was smiling, and he was definitely enjoying thoughts of his own about Leia's words.

__

Author's Notes: My updates will have to come a little further in between now, since I've got a busy couple of weeks ahead. But don't worry, this is too much fun to stop writing. Look for more soon!


	4. Chapter 4: A Change of Heart?

****

Bespin: The Next Morning

Mara Jade couldn't remember the last time she'd woken to smell something delicious and home cooked, but the rumbling in her stomach told her she shouldn't care about that when food was obviously being served. A few moments later, the rest of Mara's senses had caught up with her sense of smell, and she remembered where she was—and, more particularly, who she was with. Not that waking up with Luke Skywalker's potent presence was anything unusual nowadays. Still, when she remembered it was his bed she'd been sleeping in, she'd been uncomfortably reminded of just how close they were becoming, despite her best efforts. The scent of breakfast was too compelling to be ignored, however, and she shoved any disquieting thoughts aside in favor of getting some food.

She found Luke in the kitchen, humming to himself as he cooked breakfast. Oddly enough, he looked so content that the scene seemed completely normal. Few people, she realized as she joined him in the kitchen to pour them both some caf, ever saw Luke Skywalker like this—the domesticated bachelor, making breakfast in a white undershirt and sleep-pants, with tussled hair and humming a little tune to himself. She grinned to herself at the thought of him doing his own laundry. Then, before he could see it, she wiped the smile from her face and turned to him.

"Need any help?" she asked. He glanced up at her and smiled easily, looking more relaxed than he had in any of the holos she'd seen of him in the recent years. His blue eyes crinkled as he continued to smile.

"I think I've got it under control. Relax, it'll be ready in a few minutes," he told her. Mara nodded and headed for the overstuffed chair in the small living room. "Do you cook, Mara?"

"No, not really." She frowned slightly at the memory of her last attempt at whipping up a meal. The cooks at the Imperial Palace were probably still scrubbing scorch marks off of the ceiling.

"It's very relaxing," he said, moving around with practiced ease even in the borrowed suite. "At least, it is for me."

"Yeah…I ended up with kitchen fires. That wasn't so soothing," she replied without even thinking about it. It was amazing for her to be sharing these things with him. It wasn't her style to open up with personal little details, but his contentment and their close bond through the Force had loosened her tongue.

"Can I ask you a question?" he asked, interrupting her thoughts. He carried a plate to her and then took his own seat. She took a bite, groaned in appreciation, and nodded. "Who did you think my father was? When we first met, you seemed to have fleeting thoughts—I guess that's why I assumed you knew it was Vader."

She paused, picked at the food lightly. "I overheard Vader and the Emperor talking a couple times. They were talking about a man named Anakin Skywalker. On a few occasions, Vader would talk about Anakin's impatience leading to his destruction, and his hard-headedness. My master kept questioning about him, and Vader kept assuring the Emperor that he no longer existed. Maybe he was a brother or something." She shrugged. "It's really none of my business."

He smiled in between bites. "Anakin and Vader are one and the same. Anakin Skywalker was a Jedi Knight, but he turned to the Dark Side and became Darth Vader. I guess when Vader said that Anakin no longer existed, he meant that there was no good left in him."

Mara processed that information for a long moment. That was news to her, but it wasn't all that surprising. After all, Vader never said anything about Anakin being dead. She nodded after a while, unable to think of something to say, and Luke continued to eat, unperturbed by her silence.

"Well, Mara, I think it's time to decide what we're going to do. You've got orders to take me to Coruscant and kill me," he reminded her, and she furrowed her brow and ate in silence for a moment.

"Yes…my ship's here already, on one of the city's outermost landing bays."

He nodded and rose to clean off his empty plate. Mara watched him with intent emerald-green eyes, wondering just what she was going to do with him.

"Well…" He sighed. "I wish you'd join us, Mara. You'd be a great asset. Obviously, there isn't any convincing you," he added with a smile.

_We'll see_, she thought, but carefully kept that thought shielded from him. Then, he surprised her.

"Mara, I want you to take me to Coruscant, please."

She blinked at him in utter shock. "Excuse me? You _want_ to be taken to the Imperial capitol?"

He laughed a little. "Exactly."

"You Jedi really are nuts."

-

Thrawn smiled at the being growing steadily in the spaarti chamber, a being with red-gold hair and pale skin. If one Mara Jade wouldn't kill Luke Skywalker, another would. An assassin as capable as Mara Jade was too much of an asset to be wasted. He turned to his task force and grinned.

"I want three Star Destroyers above Bespin as soon as you can assemble them. Launch an all out attack. I want Cloud City blown out of the sky."

"Won't the Rebels be able to retaliate, my lord?" one of the officers asked, and Thrawn smiled again.

"I'm counting on that. I want a display of power." His eyes assessed each member of the team in turn. "Leave Skywalker to me. But capture Leia Organa if you can. That should prove to be bait enough to bring Skywalker to me."

A beep from the datapad in his hand interrupted the rest of the battle orders, and he glanced at it in mild irritation. Then he lifted an eyebrow and glanced back up at the task force. "Belay that last order, for it seems that my Hand is bringing me a present. Launch your attack, but if they flee, do not pursue. I have plans for the Rebels." He ran his hand over the cool glass of the cloning device and smiled. "One they're guaranteed not to like much."

-

Luke followed Mara onto her ship after bidding goodbye to his sister and friends, whistling softly to himself and lugging his fair share of the supplies. For someone who was heading—albeit willingly—into the heart of enemy territory, he seemed awfully cheerful, but then he wasn't usually a depressed guy. That was the optimistic farmboy shining through again, the Luke that Mara felt the most comfortable with. She tried to tell herself to at least _act_ like she was enjoying dragging him to his death, but the novelty of killing him had faded over the past week or two, and all her attempts fell flat. Still, if she wasn't convincing, Thrawn would kill them both, and that was something she couldn't afford. She turned to him as he started to familiarize himself with the ship's cockpit and controls.

"We've got a ways to go before we reach Coruscant, so get comfy. The ship isn't very big, so finding your way around shouldn't a problem." She glanced around and shrugged. "That's it, I guess."

"It's a nice ship," he said, taking a moment to glance around himself. "Well…"

They both shifted uncomfortably, realizing that their bond had again grown without their even noticing. It made him so much more human, so likable, that Mara was beginning to hope that he really would make it out. A galaxy without Luke Skywalker would be a very unpleasant place indeed.

_Ah, damn, what am I doing? I shouldn't be thinking this way! What is it about those eyes of his that has me losing my mind?_

So far, despite Mara's often-desperate attempts to find things to keep them from being on friendly terms with each other, all of her good intentions for him had gone down the drain. She no longer hated him, didn't really dislike him anymore, and had let him talk her into their being friends. It was, she decided dryly, a very weird situation. But Luke genuinely seemed to enjoy being around her, even though they were usually tossing biting remarks the other's way. He always seemed rather chipper in her presence, in fact.

"Hey, Mara…" he began, but abruptly shut his mouth and shook his head. "Nevermind…I don't even know what I wanted to say."

Mara searched his gaze for a moment, wondering what had caused the minor outburst. From the pained look in those crystal blue pools, there was something very specific he wanted to tell her, but couldn't. She couldn't tell if she was relieved by that or disappointed.

"Right. Well, your room's the second one on the right." She gestured down a hall, then turned back to her ship's controls and sat down in her seat. He nodded, bottled his unspoken thoughts up inside of him, and headed for his room.

There was a silence then, one that stretched for nearly a half an hour, before Luke tentatively called out, _//Mara?//_

She stiffened for a moment, warily reconstructing her barriers, and replied, _//Yeah?//_

//If things were different, would you join the Rebellion?//

//I dunno. Would you join the Empire?//

There was another pause as he thought about it, trying to be honest with himself and her. _//I guess…//_ He thought about her flaming red-gold hair and brilliant emerald-green eyes, thought about the dreams that plagued him—dreams of the Emperor offering her to him as incentive to join the Dark Side. He thought about their bond and about their brand-new and still quite shaky friendship, and he bowed his head. _//I guess that depends. I used to be able to say 'no' and not even think about it, but recent visions have revealed that maybe…if they had used a different method, I might have turned.//_

//Really?// That came as a surprise. Mara had been almost positive that the answer would have been a flat-out "no." But this self-doubt, this weakness that he'd admitted to without revealing, was all together new and a bit shocking. _//What would have made you say yes?//_

She could feel his embarrassment then, and wondered at it as he struggled to word his answer. Again, she was surprised. Just what was so secret?

_//Well, perhaps if…damn…//_

//What? What is it?//

//Well, in my recent visions…I turn because the Emperor offered you…Gods, that sounds weird. I mean, not against your will or anything…you wanted to…oh, damn, I'm screwing this all up.//

His embarrassment was strong, and Mara felt her own cheeks flushing in response. If she were to be totally honest, had the Emperor wanted to give her to him, with her knowing him like she knew him now, she probably wouldn't have kicked up much of a fuss. As she dealt with the implications that brought with it, he tried to gauge her reaction without insulting or alarming her. Finally, in an effort to regain control of his emotions, Luke attempted to refocus the discussion on her.

_//What about you? What would tempt you to turn?//_

That was too personal to answer in seriousness, but she decided to make him squirm a little. Smiling mischievously, she replied, _//Maybe…a Jedi Knight with whom to do whatever I wanted to do.//_

Shock rippled through his sense, and she could practically see the flush that was undoubtedly creeping across his face. She laughed out loud, enjoying the ease with which she could bait him. She sobered a little, however, when some of his embarrassment drained away and left only sly reasoning behind.

_//Well, if that's all it takes, Jade, consider me at your mercy.//_

//Really?// She grinned wolfishly, thinking, _it's about time I got a little payback… //So…would you strip-tease for me, Skywalker?//_

There was a pause as he thought that over, amusement rippling from his sense as he recognized the reference, and he finally replied, _//That depends on how nice you are to me.//_

She was laughing when she broke contact with him in spite of her efforts not to. They were getting entirely too close for comfort—and it was fun. Thinking she'd finally lost her mind, she returned to her ship's controls.

-

The attack came early in the morning two days later, jolting Leia out of bed unpleasantly to say the least. She grappled for her comm as she struggled to dress. Explosions were rocking Cloud City at a regular interval, and shouted orders could be heard over the chaos.

"Han!" she yelled into the comm, grabbing her bag and heading out of her door at a run. It took a few seconds, but Han replied.

"Ship's being prepped now. Looks like a couple of Star Destroyers and some squadrons of TIE fighters. Get down here quick, Princess—you're missing all the fun."

She made a face as she ran through the maze of corridors and skyways to the landing pad that Han had put the _Falcon _down on when they'd arrived.

"I doubt that. Seems to be plenty of fun where I am," she replied dryly, watching as X and Y-wing pilots dashed for their fighters and transports hastily lifted off with as much cover as could be mustered. She could make out Wedge Antilles through all the smoke, shouting orders to his squadron and running through flight preliminaries on his own fighter. He punched the side of the cockpit in frustration, probably grumbling about the seconds he'd lose in flight time because of the X-wing's startup, then watched as he scrambled into it and was off half a second later.

"Leia!" Han was beckoning to her as she turned the corner. She redoubled her efforts and reached him just as the skyway behind her collapsed under the stress of an explosion.

"That's too close for my comfort! Get us out of here, Han!" she screamed over the noise, and he nodded.

"Get strapped in. Chewie, get this thing moving! I wanna be outta here yesterday!" he called over his shoulder as he yanked the princess inside and jabbed the ramp's retract button. The pair made their way to the cockpit at a steady run and Leia slipped into the seat behind Han's as Chewie's massive paws flew over the control panel.

"We're sure the hyperdrive works, right?" she asked, and Han threw her a half-amused, half-irritated look over his shoulder.

"It works, your highness-ness. You can check it yourself, if you like," he tossed back, and despite the desperation of the situation, Chewie let out a rumble of laughter as the _Falcon_ lifted off. "Hold tight," he added.

There was no need to tell her twice. Leia gripped the arms of her seat as Han punched the thrust back and shot toward the outer atmosphere at a nearly vertical angle. A sheen of sweat made Han's forehead gleam as he worked the controls of the freighter-turned-fighter, and Chewie's fur rippled in agitation. It wasn't long before they were in the heat of battle. The sight of X-wings and TIE fighters in battle never ceased to take Leia's breath away, and neither did the sight of Imperial Star Destroyers. There were three of the impressive ships looming above the atmosphere. They hovered over the battle like the Grim Reaper's scythes, blasting away at Cloud City from orbit as the Rebels desperately made their getaway. More and more transports were jumping into hyperspace as the X andY-wings offered what cover they could. Laser fire rocked the ship as the shields absorbed the hits, but against a continuous barrage they would fail. X-wings darted across the cockpit's veiwport, lasers firing at their targets in rapid fire. TIEs continued to encourage the dog fighting, and the zealous X-and Y-wing pilots complied. Chewie was doing his part, zooming in and out of battle and corkscrewing through the sky, taking out TIEs left and right. After a few minutes of heated, intense battle, Han flicked his hand over the switch for the comm.

"Wedge, pull out!"

"General Solo--!"

"We're way too overpowered here, pull out. Three squadrons can't hold their own against three Star Destroyers and there squadrons of TIEs. Get out."

There was a pause, but as the last of the transports moved into position to make the jump, Wedge nodded.

"Yes, sir. All right, you heard the general. Pull out," Wedge replied, and Han shut off the comm again. Then Chewie pulled the hyperdrive lever and space turned into bright blue and white starlines. They had made it, if only barely.

"It's a good thing we were expecting to get out of there soon, anyway," Han muttered, relaxing back against his chair for a moment. He let out a long breath. "Even more of a good thing that we already had a rendezvous picked out."

Liea nodded wordlessly, forcing herself to settle down. "They must have had a inside source…or a bug or something."

Chewie rumbled something deep in his chest, and Han agreed with a nod. "Either way, it means we've got to be a lot more careful." There was a pause, and then he continued, "This was Thrawn's first openly aggressive move. He's obviously a capable commander."

"Yeah." She shot a sideways glance his way. "I've got a bad feeling about this."

Amused, Han gave her a crooked half-smile. "Yeah, me too."

-

"Sir, the scouts from Myrkr are back."

Thrawn turned from a tactical display of the Rebel's forces at Bespin and nodded. "Have they brought what I asked for?"

"Five dozen ysalamiri with nutrient frames, yes sir," the lieutenant replied.

"Very good. Dismissed."

The attack at Bespin had proved to be a success. The Rebels were as unorganized as he'd suspected, perhaps more so. He paced back and forth, hands behind his back, and planned his next move. Minor strikes like the one he'd launched at Cloud City would force the Rebels to stay on the move as he built his army. They would be unorganized, lost and scattered, and eventually the divided would fall before the superior power of the Empire. Thrawn stopped pacing and glanced down at the spaarti cylinders, all operational. Smiling slightly, he flipped on a comm.

"Find the Rebels, strike again. This time take four Star Destroyers. Be sure that the Rebels have settled in before you attack. Keep them on the move."

Scouts were deployed moments later to track down the fleeing Rebels, and Thrawn returned to his chambers and a massive holo-museum of art as the ysalamiri were prepared for their eminent arrivals.

-

Luke was sleeping when Leia called to him, stretching out in her fledging Force abilities. Her mind was clouded with cooling adrenaline and lingering worry, and the sense of that familiar combination had Luke wide awake in seconds.

_//Luke…//_

//I'm here.//

And from a light brush of a third, curious presence, Mara Jade was also. She remained silent, shielding herself from Leia's presence, and observant.

_//There was an attack on Cloud City.// _Leia sounded tired.

_//There was? When?//_

//Just twenty minutes ago.//

Luke suppressed his shock, but Mara's sense near-screamed, _typical._ He opened his mouth to comment, and then he decided to ask her about it later.

_//Is…is everyone all right?// _he asked his sister instead.

_//A couple of casualties…pilots. But everyone else is fine.// _She paused, and the worry in her sense increased.

_//What's wrong?// _he asked, and felt Mara reach out for him to strengthen the contact.

_//There hasn't been any signs of pursuit. That worries me. I'm completely blank on this guy. His tactics are a complete mystery.//_

//Hold tight, Leia. We'll get through this.//

He could feel her sense lighten a bit, and sent her reassurance.

_//Yeah, you too. Careful out there, Luke.//_

//I will be, I promise,// he assured her, and Leia broke contact. Then he focused on Mara. _//You know this guy. How bad is it?//_

//From the rumors I've heard…pretty bad. It's going to be a tough fight, and I can't tell you what to expect on Coruscant.//

//I figured as much. Well…I guess we'll just have to wing it.//

//Probably.//

Luke laughed a little. _//Ah well, at least winging it isn't anything new.//_

He felt her brief flash of amusement. _//I'll bet.//_

She broke contact and settled back down in her seat, wondering just what was going to happen on Coruscant.

-

Thrawn descended from his mountain the next morning, armed with a few guards, a light blaster, and a ysalamiri strapped to his back. He mentioned someone of great importance to their cause, but didn't elaborate and refused a large guard. By mid-morning, he was standing in the small courtyard of a small town near the base of the mountain. Natives dashed to hide in their homes as Thrawn regarded the area and headed straight toward one particular building. Instructing the guards to wait outside and to be on their guard, he walked into the squat building.

A few minutes later, after a short but heated argument, he reappeared with an old man at his side. An old man who was gazing at the ysalamiri like it was contaminated with a horrible disease.

"When do I get my Jedi, Thrawn?" he was asking, refocusing his attention on Thrawn as they walked back toward the guards. Thrawn smiled as soothingly as he could manage and replied, "As soon as they are ready. We must make a trip to Coruscant now, but we will return."

The old man mulled this over but didn't answer, and the group headed for the transport. Once, the Republic had an army of Jedi. Now, with the Rebellion armed with only one—and one that would be dead in the next few days—they were vulnerable and susceptible to what promised to be quite an unexpected attack.

As they entered the ship, a slim figure appeared in the doorway, and jewel-bright green eyes met flaming red ones. The figure bowed gracefully, and those flaming red eyes traveled up and down the length of her body in satisfaction.

"My lord," she murmured, her voice feminine and soft. Thrawn reached out and ran blue fingers through red-gold hair. "We are ready."

He smiled thinly and nodded. "Thank you, Maara. Wait for me in my quarters while I get our guest settled in," he replied, and led the old man down the hall to a room of his own. After seeing the man into his room and making sure he was comfortable, Thrawn returned to Maara Jade, his clone.

He'd been entranced by the Emperor's Hand since the night he'd been promoted. Undoubtedly she thought he hadn't noticed her presence in the room, but he'd been rather acutely aware of her in fact. It was her cold stature and red hair that drew him to her, and he'd finally thought of a way to have her. The fact that she would be taking care of a few annoyances made the situation all the sweeter.

"Maara," he called as he entered, and saw her standing near a viewport. She turned at the sound of his voice and bowed again, and he reached for her. Willingly she approached him, and he guided her to a seat. After they'd strapped in, he tapped a button on his comm and the ship started its liftoff. Then he turned to her. "My guests will be arriving on Coruscant just after we do. You are aware of your duties?"

Maara nodded silently, her eyes locked onto his.

"I am to kill them both."

He smiled and stroked her hair. "Good."

"Master, how long will it take us to reach Coruscant?" she asked as the ship's simulated gravity kicked in and they could stand once more.

"A few days."

She nodded, and he watched the way the light made her hair seem like flames. She started to look around the room, but he caught her chin and brought her face back to his. So beautiful, he thought, like a glacier or a maiden caught in ice. For a moment, he let his gaze roam over her face while his other hand grasped her waist. In one swift, graceful moment, he pulled her into him and lowered his lips to hers, kissing her deeply. She resisted, her entire body stiffening at the contact, and then, because he was her master and she would do anything for him, she relaxed and returned the kiss.

He was smiling as he drew back. Yes, Skywalker could have Mara Jade for the few more days they were alive. He would have his own Maara Jade to enjoy for a lot longer.

Still smiling, he tilted her chin up for another kiss.

-

Mara woke from a rather horrifying dream about Thrawn. Her heart throbbed in her chest, and for some odd reason or another, she felt completely disgusted with herself. When the feeling hadn't dissipated a half an hour later despite all her attempts to rid herself of it, she decided there was only one option left. She'd wanted to do it since she'd first shot awake anyway, even though she told herself firmly that she would never allow herself to soften that much. Now it seemed that she'd have to eat her own words, suck up her pride and…wing it.

She padded down the hall to Skywalker's room, where he was still sleeping like a baby, lost in a half-trance as he dreamed.

_//Hey…Skywalker…//_

His smoky blue eyes opened very slightly, clouded over with sleep and dreams, and then he closed them again. His tongue passed over his lips as he got used to consciousness once more. Apparently, he didn't trust his physical voice to answer out loud, and replied through their bond instead.

_//Everything all right, Mara?// _he asked, sending her soothing and reassuring feelings as he opened his eyes once more and gradually levered his upper body off of the bed, supporting himself with his elbows. He was wearing a gray shirt that made his eyes seem deeper and stormier than they'd ever been before. Shaking herself out of her reverie, she also opted to reply mentally.

_//I had a…disturbing dream.//_

//A dream?// More awake now, he turned his gaze to her. Wordlessly, he lifted the covers and motioned for her to join him. She paused for a long moment, then shrugged and slipped into the bed next to him. He drew her closer to his side, so that there were mere centimeters of room between them, and settled back down. After a moment, she followed his lead and did the same.

_//Yeah. Something about Thrawn and me. I think he was kissing me.//_ She shuddered at the unpleasant memory and turned to face him. "It was…disgusting. I…couldn't get over it after I woke up."

"Sounds like a vision," he muttered, and answering shudder running through him.

"Oh gods…" She covered her face in her hands and shivered. He reached over with a warm, work-callused hand and gently tilted her chin up. For one long moment, he searched her eyes with his own, looking for something there that perhaps he was only wishing for.

"Mara, if he ever touches you like that—if _anyone_ touches you a way you don't want them to, I'll kill them," he told her, both the look in his eyes and the sound of his voice coolly firm. A third shudder ran through her at this, but unlike the others, this one wasn't because of disgust. This time, it was his steely resolve and the grim promise he'd made her that had her body reacting. Jedi didn't kill in cold blood, so he was promising her something he probably shouldn't. Her eyes met his and held the gaze, her own hands coming up to his, as something inside of her broke and their bond strengthened once more.

"Skywalker…" she started, but he touched a finger to her lips and smiled, an odd look in his swirling blue eyes.

"Luke," he corrected softly, and suddenly she wanted more than anything to kiss him right then and there. But even as she thought it, that very urge frightened her away and she dropped her hands and pulled back. No, she wasn't ready to call him by his first name yet. That would be too premature.

"I…you shouldn't promise things like that."

"It's not a promise," he told her, still smiling, and she let out a sigh of relief. That was cut short as his eyes hardened once more until it looked as if his irises were made up of tiny bits of blue steel.

"It's a vow."

Suddenly she knew that nothing between them would ever be the same again. He rose gracefully and tucked her into his bed, telling her softly that he was going to meditate, and sent her into a deep trance where no more nightmares or disturbing visions could reach her.

**__**

Author's Notes: I know the updates have slowed down a little, but bear with me. It's tough cuz I'm in school and my time on the computer is limited. I know this chapter is a little bit shorter than the others, but that's because this seemed like an ideal place to end this part. Look for more in the near-future! Please continue to review, I love hearing from you!


	5. Chapter 5: A Change of Plans

**__**

Author's Notes: My bad about the typo mistakes…sometimes I type so fast I just skip over them. Then my grammer/spell check doesn't catch them. Also, since this is almost directly after the Battle of Endor, Thrawn got moved to Coruscant very quickly. I know it doesn't exactly follow, but I might as well mess with that as long as I'm messing with everything else—including tossing the whole expanded universe out in favor of my own plot line. I'm also kinda new at the whole Star Wars fic writing thing, so bare with…the Thrawn/Maara thing is just a fun twist. Makes everyone go "ew!" and Mara certainly won't be happy about it. Oh, and just to clear up any doubts, Palpy's plan was to have Mara sleep with Luke until he was absolutely smitten with her, then have her turn him so he could continue the Sith's reign over the Empire. If anyone needs further clarification, or a more detailed explanation, my email is **lostlittle_angel@hotmail.com****_. Feel free to contact me._**

Hyperspace: A Few Days later…

Waking up next to him in the cockpit of an X-wing was one thing, but waking up next to Luke Skywalker in his own bed was quite another. Especially when his arms were wrapped around her waist and his face was buried in her hair. Mara definitely wasn't used to that sort of wakeup, but to her surprise, she didn't find it wholly unpleasant, either. She might have lingered if her stomach hadn't been screaming for food. This, too, was a bit unusual. Mara didn't normally get that hungry. Then she discovered that moving was rather difficult—her muscles were stiff and tender. Frowning, she gingerly stretched and shifted, getting her muscles accustomed to moving again. The only other time she'd been that sore was when she'd waken up in the X-wing. Finally, slowly, she began to pull out of Skywalker's arms, and had neared the edge of the bed when he gently pulled her back, murmuring something unintelligible in his sleep. And his arms weren't the only things reaching for her, either. His sense was calling out in his sleep, searching for her, finding her, and silently imploring her to return.

_//Mara…too cold,//_ he thought to her, on the verge of waking. _//Too cold. Stay.//_

She smiled to herself, thinking he had a wonderful hold on his knowledge of words in the morning. She started to move away again, gently, and shook her head.

_//Rise and shine, Farmboy.//_

//No.// He was smiling now, a bit more awake, and, eyes still closed, he yanked her back against him. He knew she would protest mightily, and that added to the fun. He wasn't disappointed.

"Skywalker!" She pushed at his chest. "Get up! And let go of me!"

"Ah, come on." He opened his sleep-smoky blue eyes and winked at her. "You know you like it."

She hit him with a pillow, and he laughed out loud. "Of course," he amended hastily, raising his hands in defeat, "I could have been wrong."

She hit him again just for good measure, then stood up and stretched. "I can't believe I'm gonna be stuck here with you for seven more days," she snapped half-heartedly over her shoulder as she headed for the kitchen. He sucked in a deep breath, thinking, _might as well be honest about it now…_ Mentally preparing himself, he called back, "Two days."

There was a pause as all the pieces clicked together. Then her head reappeared in the doorway, eyes narrowed in simmering anger. He braced himself, clutching the sheets unconsciously, as he waited for the inevitable outburst.

"Two days, Skywalker?" she asked, her voice dangerously cool and low. Her temper was pouring off of her, easily sensed through their bond, and he winced. "Just how long have I been asleep?"

He slid out of bed, meeting her gaze with some reluctance, and murmured, "Five days. You were in a Jedi trance. I put you in it to keep you from having nightmares about Thrawn. I know how much you hate visions."

"How do you--! Never mind," she snapped, coming fully into the room and putting her hands on her hips. She glared at him, thought about simply carrying out her mission to kill him, and continued. "Skywalker, I did not want to spend this trip locked in some mystified sleep. We have planning to do! And I'm fully capable of handling my own damn nightmares!"

He took a few steps forward and caught her failing hands, pulling her into him slightly. Other than his firm grip on her fingers, they weren't touching, but she was as aware of him as she was of her own body. His head tilted forward slightly in order to catch and lock her gaze with his, his eyes wide and serious.

"Yes, you are. But I'm not. I wanted to help any way I could. Like it or not, Jade, I care about you. You haven't been sleeping right, you keep getting visions, and you're stressed."

"And your answer is to take me out of commission for five days? We have things we have to go over. How many times have I told you that my well-being is none of your concern?"

"That's not true anymore. If you get distracted, so do I. Our bond makes it that way. We both have to be at the top of our game if we're to pull this off."

She yanked her hand back and shoved him away from her, growing infuriated once more. "You won't have to worry about me being at the top of my game. Now stay away from me."

"I won't." He took a firm hold of her shoulders in an effort to pin her once more, then continued staring at her. "I can be just as stubborn as you."

"I seriously doubt that, Skywalker," she snapped. "And I don't want this stupid bond anymore! I hate the fact that you're always in my head!"

"There's nothing we can do about the bond—it's there for good. Always. And you said yourself that we need to plan. So let's start planning. We don't have a whole lot of time left."

"I hate it when you're right," she growled, and shoved herself away from him. Stalking back and forth like a caged tiger, she began to outline her plan. "Look, we can't have you simply stroll into Coruscant. There's no way Thrawn'd believe I'd just captured you and you didn't manage to get away…our best bet is to convince him that you've turned. So _you've_ got to pretend you're a Sith lord."

"Problem: I've never been a Sith lord, and I didn't exactly hang out with them, either…so how do I pull that off?" he asked, eyes wide and crystal clear. He looked like a schoolboy, and she hated herself for thinking it was cute.

"_You_ didn't hang out with them, but _I_ sure did," she replied. "I'll help you. There's more: you have to pretend you're in love with me, because I'm the reason you turned."

"Like the Emperor's original plan," he said slowly. "That just might work."

"Right. Think you can pretend that you love me? Or at least want me?" she asked, and he grinned at her, yanking her close once more. With his lips mere centimeters from hers, stormy blue eyes half-shut and smoldering, he murmured, "Think this'll do?"

Much to her irritation and his satisfaction, a shiver ran through her at their close proximity and the sensations his touch aroused, and only after a long moment did she managed to nod. "Yes…er…very convincing."

"Good." He released her and she took six very sharp steps away from him. "All right, that's taken care of."

She shrugged. "The rest is simple. I pretend to betray you and try to kill you. You overpower me and take out Thrawn. We wrap him up and send him to the Rebellion as a gift."

"So you've finally decided." He smiled. "You want to be a Rebel."

"I haven't decided anything—I just hate Thrawn, that's all. He's a kook. If you can get rid of him for me, great. And Skywalker, make sure that the overpowering scene is convincing."

He nodded, unsure but willing to give it his best shot—as long as he didn't have to hurt her. "Sure thing. So, about this being a Sith lord…"

"Right…Guess it's time for the first installment of 'Dark Side for Dummies,'" she murmured. "Okay, sit, and listen carefully."

-

**Next morning…**

They were an hour away from their second rendezvous when all the pieces fell into place for Han. Grumbling under his breath at his revelation, he stomped toward Leia's compartment. After a few pounds on the door, a very disgruntled looking Alderaanian princess opened the door.

"What is it? Something wrong?"

Han pushed past her and into the room, pacing back and forth as he ran through everything in his mind once more. Finally, he looked up at her and said, "You told me that Luke left with that woman, right?"

"Yes…he said it was something about an undercover plan to get more information on Thrawn…" she replied, frowning at him. "Why?"

"Did you ever see a woman with red-gold hair on Yavin?"

"No, but Yavin was a big base and there were people on other miss—"

"What about on Hoth? Did you see her there?"

"No…"

"She wasn't at the meeting about Endor after we got off of Tatooine, she wasn't in any of the squadrons fighting outside of the second Death Star."

"No, no she wasn't…" It was beginning to dawn on Leia as well. "And she hadn't been on the base at Dantooine…but, Han, don't you think that if she was a threat or a spy, Luke would know?"

"Maybe he's trying to protect us by playing along with her. Wouldn't it be just like him? He's gonna try to deal with her on his own." Han slammed a fist down onto the bedside table. "That kid's gonna get himself stabbed in the back on of these days."

"So what are we going to do?" Leia asked, running her hands over his shoulders soothingly. He looked at her with stormy eyes.

"This time, sweetheart, I don't think there's anything we can do."

That was the part that bothered her the most, and she winced at hearing it out loud. Luke had an uncanny ability to get himself into trouble—usually more trouble than he could handle on his own—and he was about as stubborn as she was. They had been through their fair share of scrapes, but Luke seemed to have a knack for drawing trouble to him. Trouble that came, at least this time, in the form of a beautiful young woman.

"I just wish I'd noticed it sooner. I feel so stupid for letting him go like that with a stranger. The Empire is still so strong…"

Han pressed a quick kiss to her forehead, then drew back and sighed. "Yeah. But if the kid managed to get away from Vader, I'm sure he'll get away this time."

Okay, so technically Luke hadn't "gotten away" from Vader—he'd made a suicide jump back on Bespin and somehow managed to call Leia to him—but he usually found his way back out of his mistakes. Well, not usually, but sometimes…well, if Han were to be totally honest, Luke had never really—he sighed. "Maybe we should go after him."

Leia glanced at him, a thousand reasons why they shouldn't go leaping to her lips, a thousand and one reasons why they should echoing in her head. "We don't even know where he's gone."

"I bet I have a good guess." Han rolled his eyes. "Where better to kill a Jedi than the most populated planet in the galaxy?"

"Coruscant?"

"Sure—kill Luke Skywalker at the heart of the Empire. Ought to be a big show and a real morale boost," he replied. "I'm surprised he didn't tell you where he was going."

She smiled weakly. "Probably think I'd play the protective older sister bit. I guess the most likely place is Coruscant, but _we_ certainly can't just go flying over there. We'd get shot out of orbit before we could even contact the ground."

Han paused and shrugged. "Lando's legit now, too…well, we could try to slip past in a shuttle. Worked on Endor, after all."

Leia decided not to inform Han that Vader had intentionally let them slip by, since he didn't seem to have guessed, and said, "Sounds risky, Han…"

"We could take Chewie as a prisoner…you know, slave uprising or something," he replied. "Come to think of it though, you probably shouldn't go at all. You're too important to the Rebellion, and your face it too recognizable. I guess I might be able to talk Lando into it, and Chewie wouldn't let me go without him, so we could try the prisoner plan…"

"Do you really think the Empire's that disorganized, Han?" Leia asked, breaking into his planning. He shot her a lop-sided smile and shrugged again.

"What, after the ass-kicking we gave 'em at Endor?" he joked, then said more seriously, "The Empire doesn't keep real close tabs on smuggler planets—can't, actually, without having some really pissed off smuggling cartels. 'Specially on the Outer Rim. Waste of resources. The Empire doesn't really like smugglers anyway. If we claim we're a prisoner transport from one of the backwater planets, it might work."

"I don't like it, and I don't want to be left behind." Leia paused and sighed. "Perhaps we should wait. If Luke needs us, he'll reach me."

"One of those crazy Jedi things?" Han asked, and Leia blinked at him in surprise.

"You know?"

"What, that you're a crazy Jedi too? Not hard to guess, since Luke's one. Plus you guys always seem to know where the other is and what they're thinking."

Leia smiled a little. "Not always. Luke's better at hiding things than I am." Then the smile faded and she let out a long sigh. "After all, I didn't know he was going to Coruscant. As for your plan… I think we have to trust Luke on this one and let him go his own way. He seemed pretty confident."

Han furrowed a brow, but nodded. "If that's what you think is best…" He flopped down on her couch and nodded again, this time with more conviction. "You're probably right. It's too risky for us to go in as well known as we are. Wonder how the kid's gonna pull it off. He's pretty famous himself nowadays."

"He's Luke," Leia replied with a shrug, smiling to herself. "He'll find a way."

"You know that bad feeling I had earlier? It just got worse," he quipped, and she smacked him lightly with a pillow.

-

**Coruscant: One day later…**

Thrawn stroked the ysalamiri that had been draped over the top of his throne absentmindedly. Mara Jade obviously thought she'd outwitted him, but she would soon find that it was he that was one step ahead in the game. They were due to arrive at any time, and he had the palace dotted with ysalamiri at key points, with several more ready to disable him and Jade when the time for the executions came. Fitting that the enemies die together, the Emperor's Hand and the Jedi Knight she'd been ordered to kill twice.

The trip back to Coruscant in the shuttle had taken considerably less time than the trip to Wayland in the Star Destroyer, but admittedly there were no stops to make on the way home. There had been several stops on the way to the Rim planet in order ensure that the Admiral had everything he needed to start building his army. It was, he decided after a moment, good to be back on Coruscant and away from the damned Unknown Regions he'd been shipped to when the Emperor had been in charge. Even better to be sitting in the Emperor's own throne room plotting the demise of the Rebellion and, more specifically, the demise of the Rebellion's precious Jedi Knight.

Then there was of course Maara Jade, who was as beautiful as the woman she was a clone of, but improved upon. This Maara listened to him, this Maara would succumb herself to his desires, and he desired her most of all. Was he in love? Not so much as he was in lust, but wasn't love just a glorified version of physical attraction? A stupid, petty emotion, one that got you killed. One that Thrawn didn't think he was capable of, anyway.

He turned to the clone-woman, who was staring out of the viewport with clouded green eyes, and took her wrist. The eyes cleared and she met his gaze, then glanced down at his hand.

"What is it, my lord?" she asked, and he touched her hair.

"The time is almost here, Hand," he said, and Maara nodded her silent agreement. "If you perform well, Hand, you will be handsomely rewarded," he continued, lowering his lips to her neck. Maara lifted her hands to his shoulders and allowed him to have free reign.

"You are the only reward I will ever need," she replied, and he smiled against her skin. Oh yes, the improvements he'd made on her were satisfactory indeed.

-

_//Vision again?// _Luke asked as he felt agitation flow from Mara like a river over a cliff. Her green eyes narrowed and she gripped the control panel with white-knuckled hands. She was clearly gritting her teeth in disgust and rage, and Luke actually felt some semblance of sympathy for the man on the receiving end. He knew what it was like to be on Mara Jade's bad side, and it wasn't an experience he remembered fondly.

_//How'd you guess?// _she snapped back sarcastically, and he shook his head. She was nearly impossible to talk to when she was so angry, but he had to do something.

_//Take deep breaths, try to relax…think about turning me over to be killed,//_ he added with a grin, tossing a glance her way. She shot him a withering look.

_//As uplifting as that usually is, you're probably not the only one that'll be tossed to the Rancor when we land.//_

Luke grew pensive and serious once more as Coruscant loomed closer and closer in the viewport. _//I won't let him hurt you, Mara,// _he reminded her solemnly. She rolled her eyes, relaxing a bit as the remains of the vision passed.

_//So you've told me. Not like you can prevent it or anything,//_ she shot back. He let out an audible sight and looked at her with an exasperated expression.

"You know, you don't exactly make it easy for me to talk to you," he told her, and a bit of sarcastic amusement lanced through her dark mood. She smiled sardonically.

"Maybe I don't want you to talk to me," she replied.

"Ha…and why is that?" he asked, secretly glad he'd finally gotten through to her. She poked him in the chest and nailed him with a bright, green-eyed glare—one that failed to mask her growing amusement at teasing him.

"Because it only upsets me."

"Like you're the only one that's upset with this situation," he retorted, rolling his eyes again. He lifted a gloved hand to hide the grin that was threatening to steal across his face, a gesture that Mara had become quite accustomed to over their recent adventures.

"What are you upset about? You were in hyperspace with a beautiful, sexy woman for a week," she told him, lifting a brow. He shot her a withering look of his own.

"Yeah, that's all well and good but…it's not like I get to really enjoy her," he replied, running a finger down her forearm suggestively. She smirked in amusement. _So the Farmboy can flirt. I was beginning to wonder._ "Besides, up until recently you wanted to kill me…doesn't exactly add up to a good relationship."

"How do you know? Have you ever been in a relationship?" she countered. He smiled and shrugged, feeling oddly comfortable despite the fact that he'd never been so openly suggestive before in his life. Still tracing a pattern on her arm with his finger—a move that was likely to land him with a dislocated arm if he kept it up for too long—he shrugged.

"Not really. Most of the girls back home wanted Biggs, and I've been so busy in the war that I haven't really thought about starting a relationship."

"Biggs, huh? 'Nother farmkid?" she asked, pulling away as they drifted from teasing to idle conversation.

"Yeah, but he was the tall, dark, and handsome kind, and I was the short, awkward, blonde kind. Plus he had a way with women and he certainly wasn't shy." Luke smiled at memories long forgotten, still able to clearly picture Biggs flirting with every girl at the spaceport back home. Mara chuckled.

"Girl-shy, are you?" she asked. He shook himself out of his reverie, still smiling brilliantly as he matched her gaze.

"Maybe a little."

"No wonder the Jedi died out—it wasn't the purge, it was the celibacy."

Luke laughed, thinking of first Ben, then his master Yoda. "Now that I think about it, neither of my teachers mentioned anything about girls. I have to assume that the Jedi weren't entirely celibate, however. After all, Leia and I are here."

"Well, if all Jedi are as naïve and boring as you—"

"Ouch!" he laughed. "You're on a roll today."

She winked at him. "If you think _this_ is bad, I could—"

"I'll pass, thanks," he replied, chuckling. Then he sobered and looked at her with serious, searching blue eyes. "Mara, do you want to talk about the vision?"

She shuddered and closed her eyes momentarily. "They're so clear—so vivid. It's like he's actually touching me. I can't get the memory of seeing him kissing me out of my mind…"

_Well, if _she_ can tease, so can I,_ Luke thought to himself, and pulled her closer as he then said aloud, "Well, I'd be happy to replace that memory if you'd like." He was amazed when he didn't turn bright pink at his own very suggestive comment, thinking to himself that it was so very out of character he should have been redder than a twin sunset on Tatooine. Mara was obviously surprised as well, because she was stammering when she replied.

"I-I think it's my turn to pass," she managed after a moment, and looked immensely relieved when Luke released her with a casual shrug. He grinned and winked at her mischievously, saying only, "Your loss."

"Oh really? And just what am I losing out on, Skywalker?" she returned, content to banter and tease again. He seemed happy to return to the lighthearted shots as well. At this game, however, he was out of his league. Flirting was new and very treacherous ground for him, a field he wasn't used to in the slightest.

"Oh, nothing," he replied, "but I bet you've never kissed a farmboy before."

"And you think you'd be good at it?" she asked, eyebrows raised fractionally. She knew she could make him squirm if things continued in their current fashion. "Besides, I bet you've never even been kissed before."

"Yes I have," he protested.

"It's amazing."

"I just might be good at it, too…you'll certainly never know," he retorted. She shook her head and tossed her hands in the air.

"Some things are better left to speculation," she replied, and was rewarded with a sly look from her companion. He smiled slowly, his eyes darkening a bit. He'd hooked her. For once it looked like he might actually win a round of their jab-and-retreat game.

"So…you speculate about what it's like to kiss me, huh Jade?" he asked, his voice as sly as his smile, and for a moment Mara was speechless, realizing he'd got her. She opened her mouth, closed it, opened it again, and finally just stalked out of the room, amazed that he'd actually beaten her at her own game.

-

**Coruscant: Thirty minutes later…**

Their lightheartedness from earlier faded as Luke and Mara prepared to exit the ship now that it had docked on one of the Imperial Palace's higher landing bays.

_//Ready for the show, Skywalker?//_

//As ready as I'll ever be.//

For the first time in days Luke had donned his Jedi blacks, and with the hood on his cloak pulled up and his sense and appearance as grim and foreboding as they were, Mara thought he looked and sensed every bit the part he was playing. It was disconcerting and more disturbing than it should have been, and some of his grimness rubbed off on her as they greeted the fully armed guard waiting for them. She jolted in surprise as Luke's hand came down heavily on her shoulder, the grip decidedly possessive. His blue eyes were as cold as ice, deep and dark and unreadable. Mara felt a shudder run through her before she could suppress it.

_//I'm still the same Luke, Mara,// _he told her, his Force-voice shockingly warm in contrast to his body language.

_//I know. You're just…very convincing.//_

She felt his mental smile as he replied, _//Well, good, then I'm doing my job.// _Then he squeezed her shoulder gently to offer comfort. Reassured and calmed, Mara leveled a cool gaze at the head guard.

"I have brought the Jedi Luke Skywalker, as Grand Admiral Thrawn ordered," she stated clearly. The guard tossed her a sour look.

"So I see. The Admiral is waiting for you in the Throne Room. Follow us," he replied, and Luke and Mara were jostled to the center of the group and led to the Throne Room. As they neared it, Luke stretched out ahead in the Force, trying to get a sense of his new enemy. To his utter shock, he could sense nothing. There was a blankness there where the room should have been—a hole. Struggling to maintain his calm and cold exterior, he brushed Mara's sense.

_//I can't sense Thrawn. I can't even feel anything ahead of us…there's some kind of Force-block…//_

//I feel it too,// she agreed grimly. _//Ysalamiri effect. They're animals found on a planet called Myrkr. They make bubbles in the Force…Vader and the Emperor used them in the purges to aide the killing.//_

Luke suppressed a shudder and continued forward, a feeling of foreboding stirring deep in his gut. Just before they entered the Force-bubble, he reached out to Mara again, sending her strength, comfort, and reassurance. Her muted gratitude came back, and he smiled behind the cover of his cloak's hood.

_ //We're ready for this Mara, ysalamiri or not. Trust me.//_

//For some inexplicable reason, Skywalker, I do,// she sent back, and he squeezed her shoulder again. Then they stepped into the Throne Room and the bubble, and he knew once more what it was like to be a regular being.

Thrawn wasn't what he was expecting, but then Luke really hadn't known what he was expecting in the first place. The fiery eyes and blue skin were a shock, but he hid it well. Playing his role, Luke removed his black hood and gazed upon the Admiral with unmasked fury.

"What is the meaning of this sorcery, Thrawn?" he snapped coldly. Thrawn waved the guards to their posts calmly, barely reacting to Luke's gaze.

"Merely a measure of security, Skywalker. I am, after all, aware of what a fully trained Jedi can do." The red eyes narrowed as Thrawn inspected his prisoner. "You are undamaged…amazing, considering my Hand's temper."

"Mara Jade is mine." The words were cold, short, and reeked of confidence and fury. Thrawn smiled thinly and flicked his gaze over to Mara.

"Is that so?" he murmured, and returned his attention to the Jedi. "A surprising turn of events indeed. A change of heart, Hand?"

Mara met his gaze unwaveringly. "The Jedi is loyal to me. And therefore to you, Admiral, as I am."

Thrawn laced his fingers and leaned forward in his throne. "I see. So you've turned to the Dark Side, have you, Skywalker?"

Luke turned his steely blue gaze on Mara, and the desire that flamed in his eyes was intense. His hand reached for her, but he caught himself and turned back to the Grand Admiral.

"Yes…to make Mara mine, I did."

_So, the Jedi truly desires Jade…interesting. That should make this all the more fun, _Thrawn thought.

"Just as the Emperor foresaw, then. Interesting. Very well, Skywalker, you may have Mara Jade. I have found another hand to replace her at my side," he said, and motioned for a shadowed figure to move closer. Luke squinted, then started in surprise. Without the Force, he couldn't be sure…but when Mara's breath caught, it became absolutely clear. Thrawn smiled as he stood and stared down at his prisoners. "Yes, she is a clone. Mara Jade, Skywalker, I'd like to meet Maara, my loyal Hand."

Hatred and rage shone from her cold green eyes, eyes that matched Mara's with the exception of warmth. Luke didn't need the Force to sense Mara's horror and revulsion to the notion that she'd been cloned and produced without her knowledge, because he could read it on her face.

"Thrawn…you—you—!"

He smiled again and nodded. "Beautiful creation, isn't she? Maara, please show our guests to their rooms. They will be staying with us for a little while," he said to his clone, and immediately she leapt down the stairs and roughly dragged them toward the turbolift. It was only after they left the room that Luke realized he was still bereft of the Force because Maara the clone had a ysalamiri strapped to her back. He'd been too shocked before to realize it.

After a long turbolift ride down to the detention block, Luke and Mara were roughly shoved into a cell. The clone smiled coldly and snapped, "Enjoy your stay together," before leaving them with the guards. Luke sighed and sat down cross-legged on the floor.

"Well, that went well," he murmured, then turned to look at the still shell-shocked Mara. "You take the bunk, okay? Besides, it's not a whole lot better than the floor, anyway."

"Skywalker…he…he cloned me. She's…me."

Luke reached up and took Mara's hand, smiling as big as he could to cheer her. "The good news is, at least it wasn't you Thrawn was kissing in those visions."

Mara's eyes met his and held there for a moment. "You think?" she whispered through dry lips. He nodded and squeezed her hand reassuringly.

"I'm positive."

She nodded, mirroring him, and turned away. He noted, however, that she didn't let go of his hand for another long moment. When she did, it was only to wrap her arms around herself.

"What now?"

"Now we wait. And hope. And we modify our plans to include ysalamiri," he replied, offering another smile. Mara smiled back weakly, remembering another time, another room—a suite, in fact—in which she'd had the same thoughts. It seemed like a lifetime ago now, though in reality she'd had the thoughts only a few weeks previous. She spoke them aloud this time.

"Nothing ever dampens your spirits, does it?" she mused, and received a genuine grin from him.

"Not when I've got so much to fight for," he answered, staring at her in a way that made her feel as if he was implying that it was her he was fighting for. Tingling in response, she managed an answering smile and stretched out on the bunk.

"All right, plan away," she murmured.

"There's the Mara I know," he declared with a grin, and squeezed her shoulder. "Okay, let's get started…"

**__**

Author's Notes: Sorry, another short one, comparatively. Hope you enjoyed it. The old man will show up again next time. This is fun! Sorry for the okay characterization—it's hard when you have to modify EVERYTHING that happens after ROTJ. Keep reviewing and I'll keep writing! Thanks!


	6. Chapter 6: The Pain of Loss

**Coruscant: The next afternoon…**

Keeping Mara Jade locked up in a cell for a day wasn't a pleasant experience, particularly if one was locked in the cell with her. Luke Skywalker glanced up at her and shook his head, wishing for a moment that he could reach out to her through the Force and soothe her. This was made impossible by the ysalamiri, but he did his best to curb his own tension and frustration to keep from fueling hers. Luckily for him, they'd grown close enough that she wasn't lashing out at him physically, but she was prone to snap. Now she was pacing just in front of the cot that Luke had seated himself on. He reached out and pulled her into his lap when she looped back close enough to be grabbed, pressing his lips to her ear. There were cameras wired throughout the walls of the cell and guards right outside, and since they were both cut off from the Force, the only way to speak privately with her was to get very, very close. She bristled as his lips brushed the lobe of her ear, but relaxed. They had long ago discussed the need to appear to be lovers, and while she didn't relish in the plan, it was the only way.

"Be calm, relax…you'll burn out if you keep that up. Besides…" His lips whispered down the column of her throat, then trailed back up slowly. She shivered as he continued. "We're supposed to be lovers, not two people who can hardly stand each other."

Mara had to give him credit. Even without the Force he managed to come off as a Sith. While his touch was anything but platonic, it wasn't the soft caress of a man in love. It was more of a possessive show of dominance—a sort of snatching of pleasures. Still, the feel of his mouth on her skin was too personal, too overwhelming. She didn't want to tremble when he touched her, or pulled her close. She was grateful for the fact that he hadn't actually kissed her.

"I get the feeling," she murmured, turning into him and moving her own mouth to his ear, "that you're enjoying your role." She was satisfied when he echoed her shiver, and decided to tease him a bit more just to add to the fun. Dragging her fingers through his thick blonde locks, she nipped at the sensitive skin under his ear. He jolted a bit, unaccustomed to the alien sensations that she aroused, and pushed her down onto the cot. Situating himself over her in a way that made sure she didn't have to bear any of his weight, he returned the favor and nibbled delicately on her ear, delighted to hear a strangled, almost inaudible moan come from her.

"You don't seem to mind yours, either. In fact, Jade, I don't think you're acting," he murmured against her skin.

"That just shows how little you know," she replied, skimming her fingers down his back and then up his sides, pushing his tunic up to reveal bare skin. "I'm not enjoying this at all, I'm just good at my job."

"I seriously doubt that," he whispered, pressing a kiss to her neck. She wormed her hands under his tunic and ran them over his bare back as he did so, enjoying it far more than she'd ever dare admit. She'd been right on the night she'd slipped into his suite, he had the potential and passion to be a very good lover. She opened her mouth to respond when the guard pounded on the door.

"Hey! Break it up in there!"

Luke pulled himself away from her, giving her a lazy, sexy smirk before settling onto the floor in a cross-legged position. Mara swung her legs over the side of the cot and adjusted her clothes, watching as all emotion drained from his face as he went from desire-dazed Sith lord to unsatisfied-and-bored Sith lord. Yes, Skywalker was a good actor, but good enough to get them out of their compromising situation alive? She certainly hoped so.

Luke, meanwhile, was still trying to settle after their little episode. Touching her, and her touching him, made him feel weak and invincible all at once. For a moment, he forgot who they were—_what_ they were—to each other, and he wanted nothing more than to actually kiss her. He'd be lying if he said he wasn't attracted to her. He closed his eyes and willed the minor tremors lingering in his body to go away. He'd be a fool to think she felt the same way, but he could afford to be foolish for a few moments.

"Skywalker…" she murmured, breaking into his reveries, and he was at her side again in an instant, leaning in. She pulled him close, still vaguely uncomfortable with that closeness, and curled her fingers into his hair. "How do you get me into these situations?"

He chuckled deep in his throat, the sound deep and warm. His pulled back a little to gaze at her and gave a shrug. "Don't know. But you said yourself I'm bad for your health."

"Ain't that the truth?" she muttered dryly. "I wonder what Thrawn's waiting for…"

Luke frowned himself, his blue eyes darkening a bit. "I don't know, but I don't like it."

As if on cue, the clone Maara Jade appeared and led them to the throne room, the ysalamiri strapped on her back keeping the Force away. Luke had never felt so blind or hopeless in his life, but he struggled to keep up the appearance of Sith lord as they approached Thrawn's domain. Mara walked beside him with her chin up, her jaw set, and her eyes locked on an invisible target straight ahead of her. Her expression was cool and calm, chilling if one was on the receiving end. For a moment, the farmboy in Luke longed to reach out for her strength, but the role he was playing forbade any such action. As if sensing this, Mara glanced over at him and her expression changed slightly. Then her eyes hardened and she stared ahead once more.

"Welcome," Thrawn called as they stepped into the throne room. Maara went to his side and rested slightly on her haunches, clearly ready for any inappropriate movements from her master's prisoners.

"I grow tired of this waiting, Thrawn," Luke growled, his eyes icier than Hoth. Both he and Mara had been made to wear all white, and his eyes were so reflective that the light color made them seem colder. "And I grow tired of these…animals." His eyes flicked to the ysalamiri placed strategically around the room. Thrawn gave him a thin smile.

"I suppose they made your stay rather…unpleasant," he agreed calmly. "Normally, I'd get on with your executions, but you are special and so I must pay you special attention. I would like you to fully understand just what I intend to do to your precious Rebellion."

If it was possible, Luke's eyes became even colder. "The Rebellion means nothing to me."

"Ah, I see…but your sister means a great deal to you, doesn't she?"

The Jedi was unable to keep the surprise from his face, and his eyes hardened. "How do you know that I have a sister?" he asked, very slowly and carefully. There was a tone to his voice that Mara hadn't ever heard before, a tone that made her cold all the way to her bones. She realized then that if one wanted to get to him, all they had to do was involve his family. If Luke hadn't been cut off from the Force, Mara knew that there would be no controlling him. It was a scary thought.

"I have my connections," he replied, "and Leia Organa very unwisely decided to announce it to your group of Rebel friends."

Luke's jaw worked as he struggled to gain control of himself. Thrawn smiled thinly and made an almost imperceptible move with his hand. As Maara flew forward, he said, "If you don't like what I'm going to do with your sister, you really won't like what I'm going to do to your lover."

Luke was turning before Thrawn could even finish the sentence, but the clone had Mara in a death-grip, a razor-sharp blade at her throat. She looked panicked for an instant, but regained her composure almost before the fear had finished flashing across her eyes. Luke made a sound deep in his throat, one of helplessness. He couldn't get to Mara if the clone made the move she so obviously wanted to.

Mara, meanwhile, was proven immobile. She couldn't break free of herself, she knew that. But that no longer mattered—what mattered was the look Luke had in his eyes; a look of helpless rage, despair, and the desperate, irrational calculations he was doing, trying come up with a way—any way—to save her. She'd never seen anyone look like that, not for her. His blue eyes were locked onto her, and his lips were dry and slightly parted. He dragged a hand through his hair in frustration, then balled his fist and turned to Thrawn. If he'd been upset about his sister, it was nothing compared with the rage that he harbored now. Even Thrawn seemed rather taken aback, and Mara was in complete shock.

"Let her go," he said softly, dangerously.

"Don't tempt me, Skywalker. Maara will not hesitate," he warned.

"Let her go, she isn't important to you."

"She betrayed me."

"Let her go, and I promise I'll stay. You have my word of honor as a Jedi Knight," he replied, and Mara closed her eyes in helplessness at his next damning words. "Let her go, and I will do whatever you desire. You know that Jedi do not lie."

"You're not a Jedi at the moment," Thrawn pointed out dryly. Luke let out a sigh.

"The Force will hold me to my promise. I will not betray you."

"You sacrifice your Rebellion and your sister for this woman?" he asked the Jedi, and Mara opened her eyes to see Luke nod.

"But only if you set her free, let her go where she will, and leave her alone. I want your word, Thrawn, and I won't settle for anything less. If she doesn't die of natural effects or old age, you will be sorry."

"Of that I have no doubt," Thrawn agreed, obviously thinking it over. "You would not take her if I gave her to you?"

Luke threw a glance her way, and she could see the lingering temptation before he closed his electric blue eyes and bowed his head to the Admiral. "She would not want to be bound to me, and I won't see her miserable. Let her go, that's the only deal I'll make."

Mara couldn't believe it. She knew he wanted her, knew he'd become attached to having her around him, and she couldn't believe that he'd let her go even if she was offered to him. He knew her well—better than she knew herself—and he wanted her to be happy even if it meant damning himself.

Thrawn seemed surprised by this as well, but he nodded after a pause and made another motion with his hand. Maara slithered away from her prey and back to her master's side.

"You are a stronger man than I, Skywalker, if you can resist such a tempting morsel," he said, stroking the clone's silky, fiery red hair. Luke swallowed hard and remained silent. "Very well, I might just decide to keep you around for a while."

Then he signaled, and another figure—an old man—entered the room as Luke went to Mara's side. Ignoring the stranger, he steadied her and looked deep into her eyes.

"Are you all right?" he asked, and she fought to keep from trembling.

"Yes, I'm fine," she managed, then, in a voice full of wonder, "Skywalker…you're sacrificing yourself…for me…"

He smiled a little, ran a hand through his hair, and slightly averted his gaze. "I just got kind of attached to you. Besides, why should both of us die?"

"He'll hold you to your promise," she warned, and he let out a sigh under his breath.

"I know," he replied with a nod. "So will the Force."

"I'm not worth it, Skywalker—I'm just an assassin."

"The name's Luke," he reminded her with a wry half-smile, "and you're worth so much more than you realize. Tell Leia I'm sorry when he lets you go, will ya?"

She nodded, a little speechless, and he moved away to face Thrawn once more.

_Stupid Jedi!_ Mara cursed silently at him, more out of despair than anger. It was amazing to her that she was saddened by the thought of him losing his soul for nothing. For less than nothing—for her.

"This," the admiral said when he'd regained their attention, "is Jedi Master Joruus C'baoth, and he will be the end of your Rebellion. Now that you've turned, Skywalker, the two of you will train my army."

"Your army?" Luke questioned, standing tall and proud and light against the dim background of the throne room. Clothed in white like he was, he looked every bit the lamb of sacrifice that he'd made himself. Mara shuddered in response.

"Yes," Thrawn replied with a smile, "and you'll meet the first recruits as soon as they can be shipped here." He waved his hand, and Luke and Mara were dragged out of the room by the clone again. Luke was more than a little surprised at the discovery of a Jedi Master, but he wisely kept his emotions from reflecting on his face. He didn't look at Mara as they were shoved toward their cell, but she was staring at him. As the cell door was slammed shut behind them, he finally turned to face her with a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes.

"At least you're free," he whispered, more to himself than to her, and he looked immensely relieved by the fact.

"I can't believe you did that," she replied, green eyes wide and bright compared to her still-pale face. His smile widened, though it still lacked its usual warmth, and he shrugged it off.

"I had to," was all he would say. She took a deep breath, still looking him directly in the eye, and prepared herself to say something she'd never said to anyone before, with the exception of maybe her former master.

"Thank you," she said, and this time his smile was open and warm. He didn't respond, but he clasped her in a loose, gentle hug before stretching out on the floor and closing his eyes. Glad that her appreciation was so generously accepted, she settled down onto the cot and tried to calm her pounding heart.

-

****

Meanwhile: Tatooine…

The fleet had landed in Tatooine without incident, all pausing for a moment in respect for the land that their hero had grown up on. Leia seemed particularly solemn as she took her place at their head, in a compound they'd erected not too far from the destroyed Lars Farm. Han was by her said, extra-protective of the princess as she struggled to place personal worries aside and focus on what needed to be done for the Rebellion. The next step would be the hardest, and though she and Mon Montha had both decided it was for the best, it was hard to get the words out. She looked out at all the faces that she'd come to know, all the people that had fought so hard, so long, and felt as if she were betraying each and every one of them. Clutching Han's hand, she addressed them, heartache easily read from her face.

"Mon Montha and I have decided that the Rebellion must disband. We have not given up our cause!" she called hastily before the protests could erupt. "But we are in danger if we stay clumped up in one group. We must separate into smaller groups and stay in touch. I know this sounds like surrender, but you must believe me when I tell you that this is the only way. May the Force be with you all," she said quietly, and leaned into Han for support as Mon Montha stepped up to the podium to answer questions.

"Are we doing the right thing, Han?" she asked, gazing up at him with weary, worried brown eyes. He squeezed her hand and sighed.

"I sure hope so, your highness-ness," he replied, and wrapped an arm around her shoulder. "Let's get you to a room, shall we? You need some sleep."

She melted into his arms and allowed herself to be led to a room, her mind filled with turmoil over the fate of the Rebellion. She reached out for a brother who was not there and despaired. She hadn't been able to sense him for a day, and could only think the worst. She vowed revenge on Mara Jade and slid into bed for a long nap. Han kissed her forehead and left her to her sleep.

-

Thrawn glanced up as his com station indicated an incoming call. He keyed the line open and smiled in satisfaction as a man with a neat beard, long dark hair, and pale blue eyes appeared in holo-form. He nodded to the man and narrowed his red eyes.

"Talon Karrde, good of you to get back to me so quickly," he murmured, and the man smiled charmingly.

"But of course, Admiral. I consider a calling card from the leader of the Empire a top priority," the smuggling chief replied, slipping easily into the role of snake charmer. Thrawn couldn't help but respect the man who'd managed to thwart even the Hutts at their own game. "Now, what is it that I can assist you with?"

"I need transports piloted by your crew. I have very sensitive cargo that must make it to Coruscant unharmed and undetected, and I only do business with the best."

"Then you've come to the right man. How many transports do you need?"

"As many as you can give me, as soon as it is possible," the Admiral replied.

"What will my crew be transporting, if I may ask?"

"Of course you can ask, Karrde," Thrawn soothed him, smiling. "Your crew will have to know, after all. I am transporting clones, to build an army."

Karrde's eyes went wide for a half a second before he regained his infamous composure. He cleared his throat and squared his shoulders. "I see. That is sensitive material," he agreed, rather hoarsely.

"Yes. Do you think your crew can handle it?"

Karrde drew himself up to his full height, his chin in the air. "Of course they can. They are the best, and I am happy to offer my assistance," he replied.

"I'm glad to hear it," Thrawn answered, and smiled. "Incidentally, I would like to offer you a talented young woman to add to your crew as part of my means of payment."

Karrde swallowed. He knew exactly what Thrawn was offering—an inside man, someone who would get back to him about his organization's ins-and-outs. But he also knew it was dangerous to turn down a Grand Admiral's offer—lethally dangerous. He nodded slowly.

"Very well. Perhaps you would do me the honor of setting up a meeting?" he asked, and Thrawn nodded, obviously pleased.

"Of course, Karrde. I'm sure you'll be pleased. I think you'll be surprised at the variety of skills that this woman possesses."

"I completely trust your judgement, Admiral, and I look forward to the meeting," Karrde replied, and Thrawn cut the transmission with a smirk.

-

There hadn't been a word spoken in the cell for over an hour, but Mara found she didn't mind the silence. She wasn't really comfortable with her roommate at the moment, and didn't think she could manage an idle conversation with him. He'd hit a cord too close to home for her, and she was still recovering. Then the Grand Admiral himself paid them a visit.

Luke lunged from his position on the floor as the Admiral entered, but made no threatening movement. Thrawn smiled thinly at him, an expression he wore more often than not when Skywalker was concerned. Mara sighed a little.

"I have decided to let Mara Jade go free. In fact," he added, watching as Luke let out a long, relieved sigh. His shoulders sagged as if he had just had a large weight lifted from his them. "In fact I just set her up with a job. I think you'll find it to your liking, Mara."

Mara eyed him suspiciously. "What is it?" she ventured.

"I have contacts with a smuggling chief named Talon Karrde. He takes good care of his people, and he's always in need of a few more talented crewmembers," Thrawn told her. She didn't trust his generosity, but Luke nodded slowly. He glanced at Mara.

"Han's mentioned his name a couple of times. It sounds like a good idea—a way to get you back on your feet. I suggest you take the job."

"Skywalker speaks wisely. I've set up a meeting for you and Karrde. It's this evening. A dress will be provided for you," Thrawn informed them, then swept out of the room with all the grace of a prince. Mara let her muscles relax a little and glanced at Luke, who was gazing off into space, deep in thought.

"You really think this is a good idea?" she asked, and he brought his attention back to her. He gazed at her for a moment with thoughtful blue eyes, then nodded.

"I really do," he assured her. "Karrde truly does take good care of his people. And I think you'd make a good smuggler." He added a smile to the last, stepping closer to brush a hand over her cheek before letting it drop back to his side. She shuddered at the brief, electric contact. "He could probably protect you much better than I could anyway."

"Protect me, Skywalker?" she asked, eyes flashing. He laughed.

"You heard me, Jade," he agreed.

"You think I need protecting?"

"Yeah, what're you gonna do about it?" he challenged. Mara launched herself at him, knocking him to the floor and pining him quite effectively.

"That," she said triumphantly, but squeaked as he maneuvered out of it and pined her.

"I believe…that's check and mate," he replied, and she rolled her eyes at him, laughing. After a moment, the laughter died down and she simply stared at him, thinking of everything he'd become to her in a few short days, and everything she'd be losing in a few short hours.

"Skywalker…" she murmured, but he shook his head to silence her.

"Shh…it's okay, Mara. You don't have to say anything. Even without the Force, I think I know what you're trying to tell me," he replied, and she suddenly wanted to cry. He released her and wrapped his arms around her in a hug, and she gripped him waist for a moment, regaining control. He let go when she gently tugged away, his eyes warm and understanding.

"Don't let him turn you, Farmboy," she told him as they stood. He nodded and fiddled with his hands.

"I won't. Make sure Karrde hires you," he replied.

"I will. Don't let Thrawn kill your sister."

"I won't. Make sure he doesn't try to kill you."

"I will."

They smiled at each other, Luke chuckling quietly, and then Maara came in and threw a dress at Mara's feet. She looked at Luke and shrugged.

"Guess it's show time," she murmured. He tweaked her nose, an oddly annoying, affectionate gesture that shot straight to her heart.

"Go get 'im, Jade," he replied, and turned his back. She smiled wryly as she changed. At least Skywalker maintained his chivalry, and she hoped that wouldn't change in the next few weeks. She fastened the dress and tapped his back.

"How do I look?" she asked, and watched him let his eyes roam over her. He gaped a little before he could catch himself, noting the way the shimmering fabric matched her eyes perfectly. It also managed to cling and caress in all the right places—places he suddenly wanted to caress himself. She smirked as he brought his blue eyes back to her face.

"A-amazing," he managed, and she smiled and tweaked his nose. "I mean, really, amazing."

"Good," she replied, and he grinned crookedly at her, a look that made him that much more appealing to her.

"Is it too late to reconsider letting you go?" he asked, and the double meaning of the question further lanced at her insides. She shook her head and laughed a bit.

"I think so. Besides, we shouldn't be getting along this well—I'm supposed to be bugging the crap out of you."

"Not this time, Jade," he replied. "Go on, don't be late," he added, and pushed her gently toward the door. As she turned to say goodbye, perhaps for good, he leaned down and pressed a chaste kiss to her cheek, his eyes glowing.

"Just in case we never see each other again," he told her, answering her unspoken question. "Take care of yourself, Mara. And find a husband, would you? You're bad for a man's health."

She laughed and squeezed his hand, but her eyes were tinged with sadness. "You too—take care of yourself, I mean."

He nodded and squeezed her hand back in response, his lips still curved. "You'll be fine, Mara, I know it. Be happy, and don't think about me. Just be free," he said, and she did something completely out of character for her. She hugged him, tightly, before letting go and stepping back.

"Just in case we never see each other again," she told him, and smiled. Something in his eyes changed, and he pulled her close one last time. He knew then, knew what he'd been suspecting since that first Force lesson in a suite all those long days ago, and he cursed himself for it even as he reveled in the feeling. He kept it from her though, determined not to make it any harder for her to leave.

"May the Force be with you, Mara Jade," he whispered against her glorious red-gold hair, wishing that it wasn't so hard to let go.

"And with you…Luke," she replied, and he pulled back to smile at her. He knew it was a memory he'd cherish for the rest of his life—just the sound of his name from her lips.

It was over too soon. Maara came in and grabbed Mara's wrist. She waved as she left Luke standing in the cell, a strange mixture of heartache, regret, and sadness tugging at her. He waved back, and then she was around the corner and couldn't see him any longer. She hoped, desperately, that it wouldn't be the last time she'd see him again.

-

**__**

Again, a short chapter (REALLY SHORT!), but this was the best time to end this one…*^^* I hope I'm keeping you on your feet. This is my first SW fic, and I'm still getting used to it all. Please review and let me know what you think—especially about the plot twists and Luke and Mara's relationship. Thanks! Keep reviewing and I'll keep typing away.


	7. Chapter 7: Stupid Jedi

****

Coruscant: That same evening…

Talon Karrde was an attractive man for his age, and very well mannered. He stood as Mara entered the room, obviously preoccupied. As she approached, he offered her a bow and then his hand, which she took after a moment's hesitation. He seemed surprised and pleased at her appearance.

"Mara Jade, I presume?" he murmured, kissing her hand. "Thrawn said you were talented, but he failed to mention your beauty."

Mara smiled at him a little, thinking—oddly enough—that it sounded like something Luke would say if he were in Karrde's position. His blue eyes crinkled as he returned the smile, and he pulled her chair out for her. His long, dark brown hair and gray-streaked beard made him look roguish and rich all at the same time; an odd but appealing effect. She supposed he'd broken many hearts in his day, suspected that maybe he still did from time to time, though he was obviously married to his work. She averted her gaze as she placed her napkin in her lap, feeling slightly off-balanced without Luke Skywalker at her side. For more than a few days they'd been side-by-side almost constantly, learning slowly to respect each other. Without his wry smiles, smart retorts, and peaceful confidence, Mara felt for the first time in a long time like she was missing something—like she wasn't complete. It was a distressing and distracting thought, and she shook it away as she looked back up at her soon-to-be employer.

"Let's get down to business, shall we?" Karrde asked, smiling easily as he and Mara began their meal. She had to admit that the food was delicious and well prepared, and was rather put off by the sudden high-class atmosphere as opposed to her cell or her ship. She glanced up at Karrde and nodded.

****

"That sounds good," she agreed. "What would you like to know?"

"Well, first things first…guards, if you would please?" he said a bit louder, to the ysalamiri-armed guards that lingered in the room. They shuffled, double-checked with their commander, and after a few tense moments, left. Then, for the first time in what seemed like years, Mara felt the Force come rushing back to her as the ysalamiri moved out of range. She sucked in a breath and tried not to fidget, then tried to reach out to Luke, though she knew it wouldn't work. He was still in the cell framed with the repulsive animals. As expected, she felt only darkness from his direction, and she sighed.

"So you're familiar with ysalamiri?" Karrde asked, watching her reaction. "You're Force-sensitive?"

"Yes, and yes," Mara answered, shaking her head slowly. "From Myrkr, aren't they? I've been stuck with them for a while now, and it's kind of annoying. Like going half-blind."

"Only half?"

"Well, I can still see, but…not as clearly as I used to…do you understand?"

Karrde smiled. "I think I get the gist of it, yes. That's interesting. I have a base on Myrkr, and another on Tatooine, now that Jabba's gone."

"Tatooine?" Mara asked, perhaps more hopefully than she'd meant to. Skywalker had said something about a rendezvous on the desert planet back when they'd been on Bespin. If Organa was there, maybe she could convince her to send someone after Luke…

"Yes, but it's still a small base. Under construction, actually, beyond the Dune Sea. Are you familiar with the planet?" he asked, sounding vaguely surprised at her interest.

"Enough to get by," she replied, then added, "I was working for Jabba once, as a dancer. And a…" She faltered for a moment, wondering what to call her relationship with Skywalker, before continuing reluctantly, "…A friend of mine grew up there."

"Then your friend has my condolences," Karrde said with a quiet laugh, "because I certainly feel sorry for any child forced to live there."

Mara smiled a little, wondering what Skywalker's reaction would be, before cutting the thought abruptly off. She was thinking about him too much, too often. He told her not to, and she didn't want to realize that she might be a little more than worried about him.

"Ah, but back to the business. Thrawn said you needed a job?" His pale blue eyes probed her emerald ones gently, seeking but not forcing.

"Yes, actually. My—" again, she paused—"friend made a bargain with him, and he agreed to let me go. Then he mentioned your name and told me he'd set up a meeting."

"Are you experienced?"

"Well, not with smuggling, but I've spent most of my life piloting, and training in nearly every type of combat in existence. I've also got minimal Force-training," she replied, her voice taking on a tone of professionalism. Karrde nodded his approval.

"So, you've traveled extensively?"

"Throughout most of the galaxy, including the Rim systems. I've also skated on the edge of the Unknown Regions," she replied, and again he nodded.

"You don't have trouble working with a predominately male crew?" he asked, and Mara smirked at the question. The entire Empire had been a 'predominately male crew,' and would more than likely remain so.

"No trouble at all, Karrde," she assured him. He smiled at her genuinely, and nodded.

"Then welcome aboard, Miss Jade, and I hope you enjoy working for me. Any particular specialty?"

"Engineering and combat," she responded promptly, and he nodded again.

"Wonderful, I've got a need for trained engineers. Come, I believe we're finished here. Thrawn has given you a suite near the docking bay so we can get going in the morning. Allow me to escort you?"

Mara nodded and took his proffered arm, attempting one last time to reach Luke. It was in vain, but then she hadn't been expecting much by way of success. Karrde seemed to pick up on her downcast mood and glanced at her, gently probing once more.

"Is something on your mind, Miss Jade?" he asked, squeezing her arm lightly. Mara glanced up at him, looking a little lost in spite of her best effort not to, and sighed out loud. He was perceptive too, unfortunately for her, and that made everything a little more uncomfortable.

"It's really nothing."

"The bargain?" he questioned when she didn't elaborate. Still not looking at him, Mara nodded.

_Damn that Skywalker! He's got a noble-streak a mile wide! Now I've got to get him out of it! I knew I still thought killing him was a damn good idea…Sithspit! How in the hell am I supposed to pull his ass out of this one? Skywalker, I wish you could hear me right now! _she thought venomously to herself, balling her fists. She knew she had to save him from his own vow, something she wasn't exactly looking forward to. She sighed out loud, thinking, _Jeez, Jade, it's your own fault. You let yourself get attached. Worse yet, you let **him** get attached. Now he's gone and save your hide, and you have to go save his in return. Somehow. Ohhh, when I get my hands on that Jedi, I'll wring his neck! After I make sure Thrawn didn't do irreversible damage._

Karrde stayed silent, watching a myriad of expressions flow across Mara's face. She was young—he estimated about twenty—but she obviously knew how to handle herself. Though whatever was going through her head seemed to have a pretty good hold on her. He knew Thrawn had Luke Skywalker in custody and wondered for a moment if he was the 'friend' Mara had been speaking about earlier. If so, he would be happy to inform her that their relationship was obviously more than a mere friendship. She seemed genuinely disturbed, something he suspected was highly unusual for her. Then, much to his amusement, he caught her strangled, under-the-breath comment of, "Stupid Jedi!"

"Well, here we are," he said aloud as he stopped her in front of the door to her suite. "We'll set course for Tatooine in the morning, so get some sleep. Busy day tomorrow. I'll elaborate on your duties on the hyperspace trip. Then we're off to a planet called Wayland."

_Did he just say—? _"Right, see you in the morning," Mara replied, and slipped into the suite before letting out her gasp. Wayland was the Emperor's personal storehouse. Why in the world would Karrde be going there?

_Unless…_she thought, closing her eyes as realization hit, _unless it has something to do with all the Spaarti cylinders…oh man, this is gonna get real ugly real fast._

Then she cursed aloud. Life had gotten a lot more complicated now that Skywalker was a part of it.

-

**Meanwhile: Coruscant…**

Luke felt lonely all the way down to his core. He hadn't been able to tell Mara then, when they were saying goodbye, but he knew now what he felt and it didn't make the parting any easier. The odds were against his ever seeing her again, ever touching her red-gold hair or staring into her emerald-green eyes, and it made his heart ache. Uncle Owen had always said that Luke would fall fast and hard, and Uncle Owen hadn't been wrong about a whole lot of things in his lifetime.

_Well, Uncle Owen, you were right again. I wonder what you'd make of Mara? You'd probably admire her work ethic, but you'd probably hate her independence. Aunt Beru, you'd probably adore Mara, and I can just see you trying to turn her into a genteel woman, _he thought dazedly, then laughed at himself. _Having one-sided conversations with dead people, eh? Mara'd have a field day with that._

Mara. He'd gotten in over his head this time. Who said a blue-skinned, red-eyed alien Grand Admiral was easier to deal with than a wrinkly old Dark Side Emperor? He closed his eyes and tried not to dwell on Thrawn or Mara Jade.

So much for that. When he closed his eyes, he could see her. He could remember the feel of her skin so clearly that he could have sworn he was actually touching her for a minute. He could hear her snappish retorts and grudging respect.

"Oh yeah, Skywalker," he breathed to himself aloud, "you're in _way_ over your head."

The truth was, he'd fallen in love with her. It was stupid, idiotic thing to do, since he'd probably never see the woman again, and even if by some small chance they did run into each other in the future, she'd never recuperate his feelings. After all, she'd wanted to kill him not too long ago, probably still harbored the thoughts sometimes, and had only ever used his first name once.

Once was enough. He'd fallen completely in love at that exact instant, though he'd been teetering at the edge of it since he'd levitated her off of the floor in the suite those few weeks ago, and knew down to his core that he'd never, ever be the same again. Knew that his life would never be the same again, and without her he didn't know how enthusiastic he was to go on with it. Though now, he thought wryly, probably isn't the best time to be entertaining thoughts of suicide.

He began to exercise as much as the small cell would allow in order to vent a few of his frustrations. He was in the middle of a session of sit-ups when Thrawn came in. He looked vaguely amused as Luke stood up and blinked through the darkness at him. The cell didn't have much to offer in the way of lighting.

"Admiral," he said after a moment, calming his breath. Thrawn nodded and stepped further into the room.

"At the first hint of betrayal, Skywalker, I will hunt Jade down, drag her here, and kill her before your very eyes. If you do not think I can do it, I would be happy to prove it to you."

"I understand…although, why are you saying this now?"

"Because it's nearing dawn—" Luke started at that information, wondering just how long he had been working out—"and because I'm about to move you out of the ysalamiri's influence and into one of the palace's Jedi-proof suites."

Luke nodded. He'd been moved to one of those the last time he'd been on Coruscant. "All right. I gave you my word, Admiral. That's not something I go back on."

"Understood." Luke recognized the tone as one of grudging but genuine respect. Thrawn motioned toward the door and the guards grabbed his arms and started shoving him down the hall toward the turbolift. "I just wanted to make myself absolutely clear."

Luke smiled a bit dryly. "Loud and clear, Admiral," he agreed.

He was shoved into a room a few moments later, and then the guards removed the ysalamiri and the Force flowed back to him. He sucked in a sharp breath and smiled for the first time since Mara had been taken away from him. It was good to have the Force back, it made him feel whole again. And now he could reach Mara, though he didn't dare wake her. He just wanted to touch her presence with his own for a moment. He did so, barely touching her sense before retreating, and he smiled. She was alive, unharmed, and would be far away tomorrow. For this reason alone was he able to get sleep.

-

Mara was having a dream. She hadn't really dreamed much in her whole life, but tonight seemed to be an exception. Though she was asleep and didn't acknowledge the contact, subconsciously Mara _had_ felt Luke's gentle probe. Then, about halfway through the night, the ysalamiri were returned to his vicinity and he was once again shrouded from her. That was probably the reason for the dream. It started out simple, just her and Luke looking at each other, but that rapidly changed.

_His blue eyes had a way of boring into hers like no one else's, not even Karrde's. He was standing with his feet slightly apart, his eyes brighter than the crystal clear sky above them. There was a small curve to his lips, the barest hint of a smile, and a casual feel to his presence._

"Mara," he said, and didn't elaborate. She shifted, wondering what it was that he was holding back. He seemed to realize it annoyed her, and that seemed to amuse him. She socked him in the arm lightly, and his lips curved a bit more.

"What is it, Skywalker?" she snapped, and he flashed her that irresistible grin.

"Nothing, just Mara," he replied. She growled a warning.

"Skywalker…"

This time he laughed out loud, a pleasant, warm sound that she hadn't realized she'd missed so much.

"All right, you win. I can't stop thinking about you again," he said, and she sucked in a breath. That certainly wasn't what she'd been expecting, not by a long shot. She eyed him before fidgeting again, feeling self-conscious and uncomfortable. Skywalker wasn't supposed to make her feel this way.

"Sorry," she replied, a bit more harshly than she'd meant it. He only grinned again, taking her hands and moving them to his neck. Then he secured his arms around her waist and leaned in.

"Don't be. I'm not."

Why did that make her heart thump painfully in her chest? She shoved him, trying to get him to release her, but he had no intention of letting her get away. At least not without a good fight.

"What do you want from me?" she snapped.

"I just want to hear you say my name one more time. My first name. I love the way you say it."

Okay, this was getting a little weird. She shook her head.

"I don't think so, Farmboy. It was a mistake the first time," she told him matter-of-factly. He looked at her, hurt evident in those sky-blue eyes.

"Please, tell me you don't mean that," he begged, sounding sincere and deeply pained. She gaped at him for a moment.

"Well…no, I don't. It's just, I can't go around calling you by your first name. It doesn't…it isn't right. We're not that close," she replied. He gave her an odd smile.

"Aren't we? What about our bond? What about the way you make me feel whenever you're anywhere remotely near me? What about the way my heart jolts every time you glance my way?" he asked, pressing her palm to his chest, where she could clearly feel his racing heartbeat.

"Skywalker…"

"This isn't goodbye, Mara Jade. I have to see you again."

"…why?"

"Because I have to tell you what I feel." His head dipped closer, his lips grazed her cheek and ear. "And because I won't let Thrawn keep me away from you, or you away from me. We're meant to be near each other. As friends, as allies…" He trailed off, implying that there was more he wasn't willing to put into words quite yet.

She knew she was reacting out of nerves and a little fear, but she secretly thought he was kind of nuts. Then again, she'd always secretly thought he was kind of nuts.

"Right…well…if it isn't goodbye, then I'll see you later," she said. His odd little smile returned and he leaned in close to her ear.

"Soon, you'll see me again very soon," he whispered, and disappeared. Mara stood alone for a moment, clutching her chest where her heartbeat throbbed, and wondered why she was so happy at his parting words.

-

Luke was haunted with similar dreams, though his weren't as cryptic. Sometime during the night the ysalamiri had been returned to their posts and he was again cut off from the Force, though this didn't disturb his dreams.

_She was warm, lying in his arms. He was spooned around her, nuzzling her ear from behind with a happy sigh. Her red-gold hair was fragrant, and her skin was soft. She was awake, rubbing her thumb gently over his laced fingers, eyes closed but awareness fully intact. He smiled and pulled her tighter against him, reveling in the sensations. This was something he could do every morning for the rest of his life. He didn't think it was something he could ever grow tired of. It was also a major indicator that he was just dreaming—a manifestation of his most private wishful musings._

"Mm…Luke," she whispered, and his heart thumped at the sound of his first name. He kissed her temple, sending her warm, comforting thoughts and feelings, trying to share his joy with her.

"Yes, Mara?"

"How're we gonna tell everyone? I'm the Emperor's Hand…They won't like it, they won't want me to be with you," she murmured, sounding a little distressed.

"We'll just come out and tell them. I'm not ashamed of you, Mara. And you shouldn't be either. Besides, I don't care what they want. I want to be with you, like this, forever."

He could feel her relax, even smile a little. She thanked him silently even as she teased him out loud. "What, even if I try to kill you?"

"Even then," he agreed, "though I might hide from you for a little while."

"You can't hide from me, Farmboy," she told him.

"Oh yeah? How's that?"

She laughed at him softly. "You suck at hiding."

He snorted and poked her tummy. "I do not suck at hiding."

"Oh yes you do," she assured him, still laughing, and he started to tickle her. "No fair!"

"I think it is," he argued, mercilessly grazing his fingers over her ticklish spots.

"Revenge is of the Dark Side!"

"Then you'll just have to turn me back," he told her, eyes glowing. She finally managed to squirm away and smacked him lightly with a pillow.

"En guard!" she shouted, and he armed himself. They went at each other with the pillows, soon laughing so hard that they had to stop. He gathered her up in his arms again and snuggled into her, relishing the feeling of it all once more. Finally, he said what he couldn't say in the land of the living.

"I love you, Mara Jade…"

But he woke before he could hear the answer.

-

**Coruscant: Next morning…**

Mara's dreams had left her restless and confused, and as a result of both, grumpy. She shoved on the clothes that had been left for her, then headed toward the docking bay where her employer and his ship were. As she entered the bay, she noted that it was an impressive ship even for a freighter. It looked like it had been hybrid with a luxury ship like the _Lady Luck._

"I like it," she called to the man standing near it's ramp. She tilted her head to read the fancy name on the side. _Wild Karrde_—cute.

"Glad you approve. Come aboard and I'll give you the grand tour," Karrde replied, and she joined him inside a moment later. The ship was as impressive inside as it was outside, state-of-the art, luxurious, practical and roomy. The crew was made up of both an interracial group and a few droids, and they were all welcoming and friendly. Mara was grateful that she hadn't shared the anti-alien opinion of most Imperials, because the crew was as diverse a group as Mara had ever seen. Karrde ran her through introductions, showed her her quarters and work area, then left her to familiarize herself with the ship and it's crew. As she wandered toward the bridge, a younger crewer called to her.

"Hiya, you must be Mara Jade," he said, and she nodded. He lazily stuck out his hand for a shake, grinning. "I'm Ghent."

"Hello, Ghent," she replied, shaking his proffered hand.

"I'm Karrde's slicer…though right now he doesn't really need me. You're an engineer?"

She nodded. His eyes glittered as he leaned in closer, pulling her out a chair. She sat and gazed at him, thinking that he looked absolutely bursting with curiosity.

"Is it true that you know Luke Skywalker?" he asked. Mara grinned tightly, wondering what Skywalker would make of the youngster.

"Yeah, I know Skywalker," she replied.

"Really? Wow…Karrde said we aren't supposed to pick sides, but I think that guy's pretty fascinating. I mean, I've never met a Jedi, and he tried to take on Vader _and _the Emperor! The guy's a hero. I'm not the only one who thinks he's interesting, either. All of the ladies on board really like him, too, they're always talking about him when he appears on the holonet."

Mara's smile widened as she thought about how embarrassed Skywalker would be at all of the attention. He didn't seem to enjoy being revered to much, even if it _did_ get women to pay attention to him. He seemed to like being a no-name farmboy from a backwater planet far better than he liked being Luke Skywalker, Jedi Knight and Hero of the Rebellion. What came as a surprise, though, was her automatic bristling to the news that other women were pining after him. Not that she cared that much, but she didn't like to hear that there were other women—women who were supposedly neutral to the war—interested in the Jedi Knight.

"He's pretty interesting," she agreed, noting that the other women on board were drawing near, eager to hear more about everyone's favorite Jedi Knight. "I mean, he's just a normal guy though, apart from the whole Jedi Knight thing. He's a farmboy, and he's pretty shy. Especially around women."

The crowd had grown substantially, more and more crewers drifting over to hear about Skywalker from someone who obviously knew him pretty well. Seeing their interest, and fueled by her own thoughts of him, Mara continued to chat.

"Is he nice?" one of the ladies asked.

"Oh, yeah, he's pretty friendly. Way too trusting, actually. It'll get him killed one of these days. But he's as nice a guy as you could ask for."

"Is he strong?" another chimed in. Mara smiled as she thought Luke in the white tank-top he wore to sleep in, sitting cross-legged on the floor in deep meditation, his blonde locks tussled from sleep and his own restless hands.

"Yeah. He's muscled, but not overly so. And he can use the Force to make himself physically stronger if the need presents itself."

"Is he smart?"

"Yeah, and he's smart-mouthed, too. But he's never mean about it, he only teases. He's pretty clever, too. Good to have at your back in a fight."

"Is he generous?"

"Oh yeah, really generous. Too generous."

"Modest?"

"_Way_ too modest."

"Is he polite?"

"With a capital 'P'."

"Is he sweet?"

"Like sugar."

"Is he handsome?"

"Gorgeous," Mara replied without hesitation, then froze as she realized what she'd let pop out of her mouth. _Jeez, Jade. Is that what you call not becoming attached!? And gorgeous my foot, he's just a normal guy. Besides, you don't even like Skywalker. _But even as she thought it, she knew she was lying to herself.

__

Meanwhile, the girls were exchanging knowing smiles and glances, and one asked, "Does he have a girlfriend?"

"Nope, he's a bachelor—too shy to have a girlfriend."

Then another woman ventured so far as to ask, "Is he a good kisser?"

"Wouldn't know, I never kissed him."

The women scoffed.

"I didn't! I wanted to kill the guy up until a few weeks ago. Not exactly the best basis for a romantic relationship, wouldn't you think?"

"Is he—?"

"Ladies, ladies," Karrde interrupted smoothly, laughing to himself. "Give our new crewmate some air." Pouting, the ladies complied and drifted back to their stations.

Mara looked up at Karrde gratefully. Talking about Skywalker was starting to put her in a foul mood, one she didn't want to be in. Hell, she didn't even want to think about Skywalker anymore. Karrde smiled down at her in mute understanding.

"Why don't you get strapped in? We're about to make the jump to Tatooine," he said, and Mara obediently restrained herself to the chair as Karrde walked with a purpose toward the bridge to strap himself in. She closed her eyes and willed any lingering thoughts about Luke Skywalker away. Enchanting blue eyes or no, she wanted nothing more to do with him until she got to Tatooine.

****

-

Tatooine: A few days later…

Leia Organa glanced up as the doors to the make-shift compound were slammed open with a vengeance. She almost wished she hadn't, for walking toward her was the last woman she had expected—or wanted—to see in the galaxy.

"Organa, we've got a major problem. That dumb-ass Jedi brother of—" Mara Jade started, but was cut off as Chewbacca grabbed her arms and wrenched them painfully behind her back. "What the hell?!"

Leia regarded the woman with cool, level brown eyes. Obviously this woman was the reason she could no longer sense her brother, and she wanted answers. Answers that the stubborn Imperial probably wouldn't give unless Chewie persuaded her otherwise. She nodded to her tall companion, and he hauled Mara, more roughly than was perhaps needed, toward a small room. He shoved her ungracefully into a chair, not bothering to be gentle, as Mara glared daggers at them all. She looked every bit the angry, stubborn woman that she was. In the silence that stretched uncomfortably in the room, Han Solo entered, his expression mirroring that of Organa's.

"We know you're an Imperial, Jade. Now tell us what you've done with Luke," he snapped, taking his place beside Organa and nailing her with a glare. Mara sighed and shook her head, glaring back despite the Wookie's growled warning.

"_I_ didn't do _anything_ to him. Thrawn's got him locked up on Coruscant. He's there willingly anyway," she replied. Organa stared at her with unabashed disbelief and suspicion.

"Then why can't I sense him at all? It feels as if he's…completely gone."

"Look, have you ever heard of ysalamiri?" Mara asked. She got three blank stares in return. Sighing, she elaborated. "They're these little tree-dwelling animals that make bubbles in the Force. Thrawn's surrounded Skywalker with them so he can't use the Force."

"So how'd you get free?" Solo demanded, eyes still narrowed.

"Ugh…Skywalker made a bargain with Thrawn in order to—"

"Damn his hide!" Solo snapped harshly, interrupting. "I just knew he was going to do some damn fool thing like that, sacrificing himself so that he can keep us safe. He's really done it this time…"

Mara didn't have the heart—nor the desire after the way they'd treated her—to tell them that it was for her, and not the Rebellion, that Skywalker had sacrificed his freedom and probably his life.

"Yes, he has, and in order to get him out of this mess, I need your help. I can't spring him alone," she snapped aloud.

"What do you want us to do? It's not like we can just waltz onto Coruscant. We'd get captured or shot down before we could even land," Solo replied in a tone that clearly added, _"duh, stupid."_

"Listen! I work for a guy named Talon Karrde. Skywalker said you'd met him," Mara added, glancing at Solo. He nodded.

"Met him once, briefly, before a Kessel run," he acknowledged.

"Right. He's going to a planet called Wayland to ship some stuff for Thrawn on Coruscant. A batch of clones, I think."

"Clones?" Organa interrupted, looking shocked.

"There's a mountain on Wayland that was the Emperor's personal storehouse. It was erased from every star chart in order to keep it a secret—because there are ten thousand Spaarti cylinders hidden there. That's not the point, though. If you come with us, I can smuggle you into the Palace and to Skywalker through the Palace's secret passageways."

"And Karrde's okay with this? I thought he was neutral?"

"He _is_. I'm not saying he was thrilled about the plan, but he agreed. He doesn't exactly like the Grand Admiral." Mara smirked coldly. "I don't think anyone does. So, are you in?"

They left for a few minutes, obviously to debate whether or not they should trust her, before coming back and reluctantly agreeing to join them. With one last contempt glance at the still-growling Wookie, Mara led them outside to the _Wild Karrde._

"All set?" Karrde asked as Mara led the group on board. His eyes flicked over Leia, Han, and Chewie respectively before returning his gaze to Mara.

"All set. Are we ready to get off this rock?" she asked. He nodded.

"The supplies have been unloaded, and the compound should be up and running in a couple of months," he agreed, and grinned at Mara. "So I hope you like 'this rock,' because we'll be back fairly soon." Then he stuck his hand out to Han, ignoring the face Mara made at his back. "Solo, it's been a long time."

"Yes, it has."

"I heard you'd gone respectable on us," Karrde continued. Solo smirked a little and glanced at Organa.

"The right woman will do that to you," he said, pulling the princess closer. Karrde smiled a little himself.

"Indeed, I see that. Well, if you're ready, get strapped in. It'll take us about two weeks to get to Wayland, then another few days to get back to Coruscant. I trust you'll have finalized a plan by then?" he asked, glancing pointedly at Mara. She nodded.

"Definitely. Let's blow this rock," she said, and they all strapped in as the ship got underway.

-

**Wayland: Two weeks later…**

"This is not what I had in mind when I mentioned a pack of clones…" Mara breathed a little weakly. "Gods, I though Thrawn wanted an expendable, never-ending army, not…not this…"

"You're not kidding," Solo muttered, pulling a shell-shocked Organa into him as they watched the faces go by. It was eerie and incredibly disturbing to watch clone after clone—all exactly identical—march into the _Wild Karrde_'s cargo hold.

"Heavens above…" Organa managed, shaking. It was the most disturbing thing she'd ever seen. She certainly never wanted to see it again.

What came as the biggest shock of all was that they were all Luke Skywalker. Luke Skywalker after Luke Skywalker marched up into the ship's hold. The _Wild Karrde_ couldn't handle all of the thousands, but Karrde had instructions to make several trips with several transports and their crews. However, even the normally-unshaken smuggling chief seemed disturbed by this mission.

"Yeesh," Mara murmured, "and I thought one was enough."

"What do you think he wants with all the Skywalkers?" he asked, pale blue eyes wide.

"I think he's going to have Skywalker train them all in the Dark Side. An army of Siths." She shuddered. "He's got some old Jedi Master—a clone, I think—to help him. Joruus C'boath," Mara replied, watching the Luke Skywalkers smash themselves into the hold.

"Joruus C'boath? My father told me about him…something about an expedition during the Clone Wars or the Purge…but I thought none of them survived…there were seven Jedi Masters on that expedition," Organa murmured. She shook her head. "I can't remember any of the details."

"Yeah, well…his clone's on Coruscant with Skywalker…waiting to train these guys. Gods, we've got to destroy the spaarti cylinders before Thrawn gets _really_ clone-happy," Mara growled, still shaking.

"How do you suggest we do that?" Solo asked, and Chewbacca rumbled something deep in his throat. Organa nodded slowly.

"We could have a strike force here in a few weeks," she said aloud, translating. Mara shook her head and sighed.

"No good." That was from Mara—cold, short, and to the point.

"We can't just leave these cylinders here!"

"We don't have a choice. We'll have to bust your brother out of Coruscant and then come back. We're gonna need his help." She sighed again. "Besides, a strike force would probably be detected long before it could get anywhere near here. We'll have to spring Skywalker and come back later."

"I don't like it. Thrawn could have thousands more of these things by then," Solo growled.

"We've got to do it ourselves. The less people that know about this the better. Besides, I have a feeling we're gonna need Skywalker. _We'll have to come back later_," she repeated. Solo reluctantly agreed after a moment, turning his head from the sight of the Luke Skywalkers still piling onto the _Wild Karrde._

"You win. Let's get going, then. The sooner we get Luke outta that Imperial Palace, the sooner we blow this hell-hole sky-high," he replied, and headed for the ship. The others followed, trying not to watch the clones and struggling to form a plan. As soon as the hold was full, they blasted off of Wayland. As Karrde watched the viewport grimly, Mara leaned toward him and spoke softly.

"Try to delay the clone shipments as much as you can without looking suspicious," she murmured. He smiled thinly.

"We're supposed to be neutral," he reminded her. She fumed.

"You want another batch of Clone Wars?" she growled.

"No," he answered, shuddering before he could stop himself. "No, I most certainly do not. Though I can't promise much of a delay. Thrawn's a smart man—it won't take much to tip him off." Mara nodded and settled back into her chair.

_Hold on, Skywalker—we're coming._

-

**Meanwhile: Coruscant…**

Luke stretched out in his suite and sighed, wondering what Thrawn had planned for him. So far, he had been left alone for the past two weeks (a good thing, as he didn't want to draw too much attention to himself), stuck with only the guards for company. To keep himself occupied, he'd exercise, try to meditate without the Force, and think unwillingly about Mara Jade.

Mara. Luke sighed again. At least she was free. He hoped against hope that she was staying as far from Coruscant as Karrde would allow. _Knowing Mara, though_, he thought with a smile, _that is the absolute, complete opposite of what she's actually doing._

He also thought about Leia, and sighed. She was probably worried sick, wondering what happened to him and if he was dead or not. She wouldn't be able to sense him through the Force because of the ysalamiri that framed the cell. He berated himself for not contacting her two and a half weeks ago when the ysalamiri had been removed for a short time. He hoped she was okay. There was nothing for him to do, though, but wait, wait, wait, and—

Then, so suddenly he had to catch his breath, the Force came flooding back to him like a tidal wave, filling him with awareness and a sharp tingling sensation. He sensed the ysalamiri as holes in the Force moving steadily away, obviously on Thrawn's orders. The Admiral had, after all, promised to remove them when he was sure that Luke was secure and worthy of trust. He sensed the guard as he approached and rejoiced in the feeling. It was like being complete again after having a gaping void for weeks.

"The Grand Admiral wishes me to tell you that you cannot leave this room. It is," the guard said with a sneer, "Jedi-proof."

Luke nodded. The last time he'd been on Coruscant he'd been in a similar suite. Smiling, he watched as the guard left and immediately reached out for Leia. It was good to use the Force, to stretch out beyond himself and his room for the first time in weeks. He found her almost instantly, bright and alive and steady, his ray of light in the galaxy, his last family.

_//Leia!//_ he called joyously.

_//Luke! Thank the Force! Are you all right?// _she asked.

_//Perfectly fine.//_

//Good. Hold tight, we're coming to get you.//

//Leia, I don't know if that's such a good idea…besides, I made a promise.//

//We're getting you out of there no matter what you say.// She was using her firm, "big sister" tone, and it made him chuckle in spite of himself.

_//But, Leia, you can't just stroll onto Coruscant…//_

//Mara Jade's with us. She said she can smuggle us in. Han and Chewie are here too, on the Wild Karrde_,//_ she replied.

_//Mara, eh?// _ He stretched out a bit more and felt her carefully shielded presence. Deciding not to push his luck with her, he returned his attention back to his sister. _//Okay, but be careful! There are still some ysalamiri around, and Thrawn's no fool.//_

//We'll be careful. Just don't call any attention to yourself.//

//Understood,// he replied, and they broke contact. After a moment, he chuckled again. Okay, so he was going to get rescued…he'd still have to wait until they got here.

-

**__**

Author's Notes: Finally, a long one again. Sorry it took me a little while. I've got a dumb computer. PLEASE keep reviewing, you guys are so totally awesome!!! I really do appreciate all your feedback and remarks! THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!! Keep it up, and I'll keep typing. See ya next time!


	8. Chapter 8: The Master Plan

**__**

I hope you can forgive me for being lazy! SORRY! Here it is though, the product of long, hard…er…well, labor anyway.

Coruscant: A few days later…

The trip through hyperspace was a trial if there ever was one. Spending a few days with Leia Organa and Han Solo—neither of which would shut up about Luke Skywalker—plus a crew obviously hung up on saving Skywalker's ass was not Mara's idea of an efficient venture. The trouble was she needed him, and to get him out she needed a distraction. Hence, she was stuck with the whole lot. The only tolerable person on the ship was Karrde, and he was so preoccupied with his hold full of Luke-clones that he wasn't much of a conversationalist. And as loath as she was to admit it, Mara was anxious to get the real Skywalker back—almost as anxious as everyone else. This surprised and alarmed her, but she brushed it off and locked herself in her quarters for long periods of time. Periods of time during which she could 'speak' with Luke privately.

_//How ya holdin' up, Skywalker?//_

//Concerned, Mara?// he replied sleepily, but there was warmth and amusement in his sense.

_//Not so much me as your royal pain-in-the-ass sister,// _she retorted, but it lacked venom.

_//I know. She's almost constantly stretching out to me to make sure I'm here. How much longer will it take you to get here?//_

//Few hours. I think you're in for a nasty surprise when we do get there.//

//Why?// She could practically feel his frown. _//What's up?//_

//Oh, I'm not going to spoil the fun…//

//Should I be worried?//

Her sense turned grim and he had his answer. _//Listen, Skywalker, we're gonna get you out…then we've got to go after that crazy Jedi Master clone, then on a little trip, then back to take care of Thrawn…and it has to be in that order because if we leave our little surprise with that C'baoth guy, we might be dealing with more than we can handle.//_

//So I've dragged you into trouble again,// he sent, feeling miserable. He shook his head. _//I made a promise, Mara, and I don't want to put you or the rest of my family in danger. Just leave me here, it's better this way.//_

//Are you nuts? Leave you with Thrawn?// And just what did he mean by "you and the rest of my family"? Did he consider her…?

Knock it off, Jade.

_//It's just that—//_

//We're coming after you, Skywalker, whether you like it or not.// She nodded to firm her resolve, taking a mental standing against the onslaught of his worried emotions. _//And that's final.//_

//If I get any of you hurt, I'll never forgive myself. I've dragged Han and Leia through enough hell, not to mention the droids, Chewie, Ben, Yoda, Biggs, Dak, Wedge, Aunt Beru, Uncle Owen—//

//I think I get the picture, Farmboy,// she sent back dryly. She could feel his remorse—deep regret, really—and knew that he meant his words. Still, he grinned wryly at her response, and some of his somberness lifted as he decided to attempt to tease back.

_//You always know the right thing to say, Mara.//_

//Ha! Just wait to you hear what I'm gonna say to you in person!//

//Oh, but I can't,// he replied, and pictured her with her legs spread in an offensive stance, hands on her hips, her glorious red-gold hair tumbling about her shoulders and her jewel-bright emerald eyes narrowed as she looked at him. He grinned. _//I can just see you now, too, yelling at me.//_

//Too bad for you.//

//What do you mean? It's the most welcoming sight I've had in a while…You'd be glad to see you too, if you were stuck with only the guards for company.//

//Don't get any ideas. This is strictly professional. I need your help, that's all.//

//Right, I'll remember that,// he sent back, but she got the distinct impression that he didn't believe her at all. Shaking her head, she turned to the _Wild Karrde_'s controls and examined them very, very closely.

_//Well, don't get comfy, we'll be there soon. If the wall starts moving, it's only me.//_

//Mara?//

//Yeah, Farmboy?//

//Come alone.//

She blinked. _What in the hell…? //Why?//_

//Just leave my sister and Han somewhere safe and come get me. We'll have to face C'baoth alone. Both of us. I don't want Han and Leia exposed to him. Especially not Leia, she's too sensitive to the Force. He might try to use her to his advantage.//

//All right, if that's how you want it.//

//And be careful, yourself. I know he'll be after you, too,// he added earnestly. She shook her head and tried to keep from feeling pleased.

_//Don't you worry about me, I'll be fine. _You're _the one in the cell, remember?//_

//Kinda hard to forget,// he agreed.

_//See ya in a couple of hours, then.//_

She broke contact, and he tried to calm his aching heart. He really missed Mara, almost as much as he missed Leia and Han. But that was because he'd fallen in love with her at some point or another in the past month. She'd sealed his feelings for her when she'd said his first name. Since then, he'd been an absolute wreck. And the worst part was she didn't reciprocate his feelings. At least, he thought she didn't. He'd be willing to bet money that she didn't. This made things a little complicated. Besides, he wasn't even sure that Jedi were allowed to love, or even marry. Neither Ben nor Yoda had ever spoken on the subject, and neither had ever mentioned wives, lovers, or old girlfriends. There certainly hadn't been any women around when Luke had met them. Perhaps a Jedi was meant to remain celibate and unattached. Still, if Jedi didn't marry or reproduce, how did the Force-users come about? His own father was a Sith lord, but Mara's parents might have been Jedi. She didn't even know them. It was a complex matter, one that gave Luke a headache just by thinking about it. His heart was screaming at him to get to Mara, to find her and be with her for as long as she would allow, and he hoped that his heart was in agreement with the Force. He didn't think he was strong enough to resist her if it came to that.

He laughed then. He didn't think anyone was strong enough to resist her, and if they were, he wanted to know their secrets. He settled and tried to meditate, and when that failed, he simply sat and thought about his family—a family that had extended to include Mara, even if she didn't want to be a part of it.

--

Mara leaned back in her chair and tried not to think about Luke. She, of course, failed miserably. Was it her imagination, or had his heart been pounding? It had to have been her imagination, because why in the worlds would he, of all people, be thinking about her like that? Pushing her uncomfortable thoughts away, she closed her eyes and tried to relax and formulate a plan. Almost immediately, big, earnest blue eyes flitted back into her mind's eye and left her reeling with the implications. He was an easy man to read, he wore his heart on his sleeve, and always seemed open and honest. Those traits had crashed straight through her barriers, and she still hadn't recovered. In fact, she still hadn't recovered from being separated because of the ysalamiri, and then because of her new "job." While everything in her but her heart rebelled at the thought, it was beginning to become clear to her that she and Luke Skywalker were to walk down the same path for a least a little while longer. And he was good to have at your side in a tight spot or a tense situation. She just wished that her heart didn't whisper insane longings to her head. She certainly didn't want him in her life for much longer than he had to be there, and that was final.

"Starting the approach on Coruscant, Karrde!" she shouted over her shoulder a few minutes later, watching as the crew strapped in. Though technically Mara was a mere mechanic, no one argued with her position in the co-pilot's seat on the bridge. Her talents as a pilot and leader led to the current co-pilot actually offering his seat to her, bowing down to her superior skills.

"Very well," he called back, then strapped himself in near Organa and Solo in order to resume their conversation. Vaguely, in the back of her mind, Mara wondered how the roguish ex-smuggler and the regal ex-princess would handle the news that they were to be left behind while Mara carried out the operation. Probably, she thought with a wry smile, not well. She'd have to find something useful for them do to while she completed the mission.

And then, before she knew it, before she was ready for it, the ship was setting down on Coruscant, and she could feel Luke very clearly through the Force. She sighed, prepared herself for the plunge, and secretly thought that this was the most insane thing she'd ever done. Probably the stupidest as well, but there was little time to reconsider. Besides, she could feel Luke's bright presence, his very light reaching out to envelope her just as it always did, and it was hard to resist that silken pull. Squaring her shoulders, she turned to face the group, and as she watched the clones file down the ramp and out of the _Wild Karrde_'s hold, she got an idea.

"Karrde, mind if I borrow two of those guys?" she asked. He looked at her, a confused frown pursing his features for a moment before he gave a slight shrug.

"Sure. _I_ certainly don't want them," he replied.

"Thanks!" she called back, and looked at Organa and Solo. "You guys can sneak in with me, but while I spring Skywalker, you'll have to keep an eye on our buddies for me."

Solo gave her a look that spoke volumes about his point of view on Mara's plan of attack. "If you think for one minute that I'm gonna babysit a couple of clones while _you_ go out and save my best friend, you've got another thing coming. Besides, saving Luke's behind is kind of my job. Wouldn't want to get out of practice."

"I agree. He is my brother, I should be there to get him out," Organa added. Mara rolled her eyes and sighed.

"No way all three of us can go. Not even two. And what would happen if I let you or Solo go and you opened the wrong door and popped out of the wall in the throne room, hmmm? No, it's best that I go. I'll come back and get you, and then your precious Skywalker will be all yours. Force knows I want as little to do with the Jedi as possible."

Again, Solo gave her a look, one brow raised in speculation. "Really? Then why are you springing him out like this? We didn't ask you to."

_Trust Solo, _Mara thought with bite, _to ask the very question I've been trying so hard to avoid._ Aloud, she responded simply, "You didn't ask, but he did."

Organa's brows went up at this, and Mara could sense the stinging pain that rippled across the other's Force signature in response. "He asked you? But why didn't he…ask us?"

Mara smirked. "Allow me to count the ways. One, you're two of the most well-known Rebels in the galaxy and this is the Imperial capitol; two, I know how to get around the palace without being seen or heard; three, I have a bit of training in the Force that should be beneficial; and four, I'm the one who's got a master plan."

"A master plan?"

Again, Mara rolled her eyes at the inquiry. "Solo, I'll explain it all later. The quicker we get you into someplace unseen and your precious Jedi out of his cell, the better."

"That's something I can agree with," Organa cut in. "Fine, you go get him. But bring him straight back here."

Mara waved it off as she opened a panel of the wall. She led Solo and Organa into a crossroads of sorts and motioned for them to keep hold of the clones and wait. She was so focus on her task that she didn't feel the slight ripple in the Force indicating a change in Luke's manner.

****

Meanwhile: in his cell…

Luke struggled against himself, becoming desperately aware of just how close he'd been brushing with the Dark Side lately. Not only that, but by consciously conceding to be rescued, he was going back on his promise to Thrawn. And a Jedi's word was binding…wasn't it? Of course it was.

_No. I can't leave like this. I'll either have to face Thrawn and C'boath or I'll stay and do exactly what I promised to do, but I will not sneak out._

Just as he was finalizing that thought, a panel of the well slid open and Mara slipped in. Almost instantly, all of his good intentions about honoring his promise fled away, being replaced with thoughts of getting out of here and following her anywhere in the galaxy she wanted to take him. Dressed in her usual black jumpsuit and boots, a utility belt draped loosely over her hips, she looked even better than he'd remembered. Before he realized what he was doing, he was across the room and her hands were in his.

"Mara," he started, but was cut off as she shoved him toward the passageway.

"Come on, Skywalker, no time to waste. Your sister and the smuggler are waiting not too far ahead, along with two of those surprises I mentioned."

"Mara, I can't go with you," he said firmly, stopping directly in front of the passageway. Her green eyes lanced into him and she pushed him again.

"What are you talking about? Of course you can," she snapped. He shook his head.

"I gave my word as a Jedi. The Force will hold me to this promise, Mara. And what kind of a man would I be if I simply ran away?"

"A pretty damn intelligent one!" she half-yelled. "Look, Skywalker, I know you have this misguided honorable-streak—" he opened his mouth to protest this but she cut him off once more—"but trust me, Thrawn doesn't. And if you don't get out of here, _right now_, he'll kill you. But only after he's succeeded in destroying everything you love."

She spoke with an air of someone who'd had experience in that particular area—who was he kidding, she _was_ someone who'd had experience in that particular area—and yet he still wasn't allowing her words to sway him.

"I wouldn't be a Jedi if I didn't honor my promise," he told her, pleading with big blue eyes for understanding.

"And if you stick around, you won't be a Jedi because C'boath will have twisted you into becoming a Sith," she snapped, becoming impatient. "Look, if I show up without you, your sister's gonna have that Wookie buddy of hers skin me alive."

"She'd understand."

"Oh yeah? Then why'd she already try that particular maneuver?"

"Mara, I'm sorry but I—"

"Fine," she said abruptly, enjoying his look of surprise as she sat on the floor. "But if you're staying, so am I."

He became exasperated. "The whole point of _me_ staying was to get you to leave."

"Precisely," she agreed, "so what're you gonna do now?"

He groaned. Trust her to come up with a way to make him do what she wanted. He really should have expected nothing less. He was not willing to put this beautiful young woman—resourceful as she was—at risk again, so he nodded.

"Fine, you win. But how are we gonna get out of here."

She winked and he decided it was perfectly all right to be wary. "That's simple, Skywalker. Follow me and I'll show you."

Obediently he trailed after her into the tunnel, and several moments later his weeping sister tackled him as they turned a corner.

"Luke! You're safe, thank the Force," she said, voice muffled by his tunic. He gently pulled her off of him and wiped away her tears, then turned and grinned at Han, who unsuccessfully tried to keep a stern expression on his face.

"Well, kid, how many do you owe me now?"

Luke's grin turned wry and he affectionately thumped Han's shoulders. "You still owe me for Jabba."

Mara watched the exchange with interest, one brow raised at their antics. Then she full out smiled as Luke looked behind his sister and friend and noticed, for the first time, his clones. Shock rippled over him and into her sense as he took them in.

"How many are there?"

"A few hundred," Mara informed him cheerfully, enjoying the moment. He shot her a glare, deadly serious. "Thrawn's making an army of you, farmboy…an army he wanted you to train."

"I…an army…"

The two Luukes watched him with silent blue eyes, and Luke shuddered.

"We're gonna put one in your cell, and another's going to leave in your X-wing, which Ghent has probably managed to get out of holding by now."

"I…Ghent?" he asked.

"Karrde's slicer." Mara beamed. "You're right, Karrde does take care of his people."

"So that give us ample time to get you away, and he'll probably chase down the X-wing first as long as we all head straight back to Wayland," Leia explained, and Han nodded.

"Right back to his stronghold to pick up another load of clones," he finished.

Luke nodded and followed Han and Leia out of the secret passage with one of the clones while Mara led the other back to Luke's cell and instructed him to look as if he were meditating. Twenty minutes later, the clone Luuke, dressed in an Imperial pilot's outfit, was heading toward the docking bay where the X-wing was, and the group was ready to head back to Wayland without a hitch. The last of the clones were marching into the palace when Mara's hand shot out and caught one. Turning Luuke so that it faced her, she muttered, "my command is fulfilled," and she plunged her lightsaber into its stomach to the hilt. Leia and Han watched, rather shaken by the whole episode, as Mara shut down the lightsaber and walked calmly up the ramp into the _Wild Karrde_. Luke watched her go, unperturbed.

"Why'd she do that, you think?" Han muttered, and Luke smiled slowly.

"She's freed herself from the grip of the Emperor and Thrawn. She's truly free now."

By the looks on their faces, Luke knew that Leia and Han didn't understand. It didn't matter. He understood, and that's all he needed to know. He followed Mara up the ramp and left Han and Leia to contemplate his words.

****

Hyperspace: Somewhere between Wayland and Coruscant, a few days later…

Sucking in a deep breath, Luke firmed his resolve and knocked gently on Mara's door. He felt her brush against his sense, then the door slid smoothly open and he took a hesitant step inside. Her back was to him and she was brushing out her luxurious red-gold hair. Swallowing to dampen his suddenly dry throat, he took another faulty step forward.

"What is it, farmboy?" she asked. He fiddled with his hands and glanced her way.

"Well…I…nothing in particular."

She could feel his nervousness and nailed him with a look. "Oh yeah? Then why so tense?"

"I…"

"You…?"

He settled down next to her on the bed, and she gave him another pointed look before going back to brushing her hair. It was a minor brush off, and suddenly Luke regretted ever coming. He stood abruptly and turned to leave, but she shut the door before he could get out of her cabin.

"No way are you leaving me in the dark, Skywalker. Spit it out."

"Nevermind…this was a horrible idea. I thought…" He shook his head. "I don't know what I thought, but I should have known better. Sorry for bothering you."

She was off of the bed and glaring at him in an instant. "The only thing that's bugging me is your attitude. Now…spit.it.out." Each word was heavily punctuated, and Luke gulped. He led her back to the bed and sat them both down. Taking her hands in his, eyes downcast, he braced himself and decided to speak. Glancing up into her keen, emerald gaze, he choked out what he'd been longing to say for weeks.

"What was that? I couldn't hear you," Mara said, leaning in. Her hostility had been pushed aside in favor of curiosity. Luke's hand came up to touch her hair gently, his eyes crystal blue. Haltingly, he tried again.

"Mara. Jade…I love you."

**__**

Not a long chapter, but I wanted to leave you in suspense. Please review and let me know what you think Mara's reaction should be.

Again, I apologize for disappearing for a while, but I'm hoping to put more of this out soon. Hope you liked it!


	9. Chapter 9: Drastic Answers

**__**

Authoress' Notes: I know, I'm so sorry for making you wait for so long. Cruel, aren't I? I had every intention of continuing this fic and then I got…sidetracked. I did! I was on a trip to England, then I worked like mad, and now I've got school. The good news is, I've got TONS more free time on my hands now so the updates should come a bit more regularly…as long as I don't go braindead. So, here's the long awaited Part 9!

Hyperspace: Somewhere between Wayland and Coruscant…

(quick recap:

Taking her hands in his, eyes downcast, he braced himself and decided to speak. Glancing up into her keen, emerald gaze, he choked out what he'd been longing to say for weeks.

"What was that? I couldn't hear you," Mara said, leaning in. Her hostility had been pushed aside in favor of curiosity. Luke's hand came up to touch her hair gently, his eyes crystal blue. Haltingly, he tried again.

"Mara Jade…I love you."

…end recap)

For a long moment Mara Jade could do naught but gape in disbelief. There was simply no way Luke Skywalker, Jedi Knight and Rebel Commander—her sworn adversary at one point and now her only ally—could have said the words she'd just heard. True, it had _sounded_ like Skywaker's voice, but…there was simply no way. None. At all…

…was there?

But, considering the look on his face and the deathgrip he had on her hands, there was a way. He had asked, and she couldn't back away from it.

_Oh, why the hell did I pester him to tell me in the first place?_ She snapped acidly to herself, more out of panic than real anger. Because panicked she was. Of all the things in the galaxy she least expected, this one topped the cake…because she'd never meant, never wanted, never dreamed of loving Luke Skywalker, but she did. Utterly stupid of her. There was no way Mara was good enough for him. She knew that. Luke Skywalker was the pillar of all that was good and honest in the galaxy. He was the man that every woman dreamed of being with. After his numerous heroic exploits, after being plastered all over the holonet, after all of that he'd never stopped being the humble, hot-shot-pilot-turned-Jedi. The one who claimed to be in love with her, Mara Jade, the ex-Emperor's Hand, ex-Hand of Thrawn, ex-assassin who'd once wished to kill him with every fiber in her being.

Oh no, Luke could do better than her…

His blue eyes bored into her emerald ones, struggling to read the conflicting emotions. All he had to do was tap into her thoughts but he'd never do that. Ever. So he held tightly onto her hands and felt his heart slam repeatedly into his ribcage and waited, just like a normal man.

"Mara?" he ventured after several long moments, and she swallowed.

"Skywalker—"

Reflexively pain welled up in him and, due to their physical contact, overwhelmed her. His surname…she'd used his surname and it had torn open a fresh wound. For a moment she panicked again, needing to get through this with his attention before he drew away completely.

"Luke," she amended, and he refocused, the pain dulling to a lingering ache. "Luke, I…I can't return your feelings."

If she thought the surname had brought pain, it was no comparison to the agony that washed through the young man now. He jerked his hands back to relieve as much of it from her sense as he could and struggled to regain control of his sudden lack of breathing. His shields slammed up faster than ever before, and he couldn't stop the tears that welled up, though none fell to his cheeks. The sudden emotion made his eyes bright, shiny blue and she had to turn away as she grappled with her own pain.

A vision came to her then, a dark one, brief but full of loneliness and loss. Luke with a strange woman…a willowy, beautiful woman, much like his sister…but she was telling him that she would not leave her planet, could not marry a Jedi because her people didn't abide by the Jedi, and then, a brief flash of her death colored the vision. Another strange woman came from the depths of Mara's mind…she had grey eyes and long hair and Luke called her "Callista," but there was no Force presence in her—no presence at all—and there was something else. Something distinctly wrong with her; a craving for power, the sense that she didn't fit in her body, and that astounding emptiness that Mara had never encountered before. But Callista didn't stay either. She abandoned Luke in search of something else—the Force, Mara realized—and left the Jedi, now referred to as 'Master,' alone and shattered. She saw Luke drift through the depression for a long time, neglecting his family and friends, withering away, a shadow of the man Mara knew now.

The vision faded then, leaving her reeling from the implications, breathless from the strong sense of depression and loneliness that had come on its heels. _Still_, she reminded herself, determined not to fall prey and allow Luke to love her when there was so much more waiting for him. _Still, the future is always in motion. _ He'd told her that himself, hadn't he?

"I…I see." He stood, helplessly looking for a way out. "I understand. Hell, I half-expected it," he added with a bitter laugh, then turned his gaze back to her, just for a moment. "I'm sorry. I should have kept that to myself. I'll leave you in peace now."

He moved quickly for the door and was gone before Mara could recover from the vision. Not that she would have called him back. There was nothing more to say. Further explaining would prove fruitless. And she didn't want him to try and talk her into changing her mind, either. It was for the best, she was sure.

However, she'd never felt so lonely, so lost before. Not even when the Emperor died had there been a hole like this. The pain of it was so sharp that she almost felt sick. Something in her had died—something that he'd brought to life in the first place—and at rejecting his offer of love, of a future, she knew it wouldn't return.

She sank into her bed, eyes tightly shut. Soon after, she was fast asleep, but it was plagued with nightmares of Luke in the arms of another woman, then Luke withering away from loneliness that was somehow all her fault.

--

"You look like hell, kid," Han commented as Luke flopped down into a seat beside him.

"I bet," was the mumbled answer, and then the smaller man went silent. For a moment, Han sat in silence, wondering what to say.

"You told her then?"

Luke nodded.

"And…she said…?"

"She said…that she doesn't share my feelings."

"Were those her exact words?"

"What does it matter?" There was a bit of anger Luke's tone as he replied.

"Hey, kid, I'm just trying to help. If she didn't say those exact words…she might be calling your bluff."

Hope sparked in Luke's eyes, but he was wary. "I don't know, Han…I mean, I guess she never really liked me in the first place."

Han shook his head. After a moment, he said, "You sure do know how to pick 'em, Luke."

There was a small smile at that. "I guess I do." Then, quieter, "Thanks, Han."

"Anytime, kid," was the older man's response, and Luke drifted back toward his cabin.

--

The nightmares came to Luke, too, and he reached for something in his sleep—anything—that might offer comfort. His sense automatically sought out Mara's, as had become his habit over the past several months, but there was nothing soothing about her sense. She was as torn and plagued as he was. He grappled with the horrific dreams all night, then came into a restless wakefulness sometime in the early morning hours and headed toward the _Wild Karrde_'s hold. The ship was large enough to carry a few one-person ships in its secondary hold, and he selected one without really focusing. A few moments later he was blasting away into open space, his destination firmly implanted in his mind. He was a Jedi, and he had a promise to keep.

**_Later that Morning: Hyperspace…_**

The moment Mara woke up she knew something was wrong. For one, while she could still sense Luke, he was far away. For two, there was something grim and determined that had a hold of his mind, and though his shields were firmly in place, she guessed his intentions immediately.

"Sithspit!" she snapped, tripping in her haste to get out of bed. She went down hard on her elbow, but she was too distracted to care. She raced down the hall, shouting into her comlink as she made her way to the hold. Sure enough, a small ship had been taken in the night.

"Hey, Organa, Solo!"

A slightly disoriented male voice answered. "What is it?" Han grumbled.

"That pesky Jedi of yours took off last night," she bit out, and there was a flurry of noise as Han absorbed and reacted to that bit of information.

"The kid left?" he asked sharply.

"Sure did." And Mara had the nagging feeling that it was all her fault.

"Well…can you use your…Force thing and contact him?"

"I can try, but I can't guarantee he'll answer. He's trying to block me out."

"Well, hang on. Leia, Chewie and I will be there in a minute."

"Hurry up, Solo," Mara replied, then shut off the comlink and stretched out hard in the Force. She reached for Luke with everything she had left.

_//…farmboy…?//_

For a long time there was no response, but finally he returned contact. His Force presence was turbulent and dim.

_//What is it, Mara?//_

//Where are you going?//

//To fulfil my promise. As a Jedi, that is the only path I can take.//

Dread clutched at her heart, and she took in a breath. _//They'll use you and kill you,//_ she warned. Bitterness crossed his sense.

_//So be it. If I die, then it's my time. The future is always in motion.//_

//Please…// She paused, then, quietly, _//Please don't do this Luke, not alone.//_

It was only the third time she'd ever used his first name, and he could sense her sincerity…but he hardened his heart and refused to believe that he could go back after being rejected and pretend that nothing had happened.

_//I've faced worse alone, Mara.//_

//I can help you.//

//Stay where you're safe, stay out of it. C'boath and Thrawn are my problem..//

//They're the galaxy's problem,// she reminded him sharply. _//Stop taking suicide missions and wait for us to catch up so we can all face them.//_

He ignored her comments and said a terse farewell, making her curse out loud several times more. She was using a few colorful ones when Leia, Han, and Chewbacca arrived.

"He's determined, and nothing's gonna stop him," she informed the others, then growled to herself.

"We talked to Karrde—he's already turning this bucket around," Han offered. Mara shook her head.

"Not good enough. We'll never make it in time…this ship's a freighter, not a fighter or pleasure yacht. We'll have to take something smaller and faster."

"If I had the _Falcon_," Han muttered.

"But you don't." Mara shook her head. "No point in thinking about what we haven't got…instead we've got to use what we do."

"You're not acting like a woman who doesn't love my brother," Leia commented softly, and Mara's eyes blazed at the words.

"Drop it," she snapped acidly, and with an uncomfortable look, Leia did so. Han shook his head and motioned to the ships.

"We'll have to split up…Chewie, you think you can fit into one of those?"

Chewbacca rumbled an affirmative, and Han nooded. "Good…I'll get a hold of Lando—he might be able to help."

"Calrissian?" Mara asked, and Han nodded.

"He helped on Endor—" he ignored the red-head's scathing glare at the mention of Endor—"and he's a good friend of Luke's, so…"

"All right…let's get going. You can call him on the way," Mara replied, and they split up, each taking a ship. Soon they were hot on the tail of their missing Jedi Knight, and yet there was a sense of deep foreboding in both Mara and Leia. It didn't look as if they could talk Luke out of this one.

**__**

I think I'm gonna shorten the chapters a bit…that way updates will be faster and the story might end up a bit longer…plus I love cliffhangers. Review and let me know what you think about the plot and the shorter chapters, please…thanks for all your amazing patience and support! Love you guys!


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